


You Earned Love

by Feclin



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Frisk is a girl, Gen, I'll add more if I need to, Lots of resets, Papyrus knows some, Sans knows all, Sign Language, Spoilers - Undertale Pacifist Route, i don't want to spoil anything, puns are harder than I thought, some not very descriptive violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-07-21 13:54:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7389595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feclin/pseuds/Feclin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Reset*<br/>*Reset*<br/>*Reset*<br/>*Reset*<br/>…<br/>…<br/>…<br/>*Reset*</p>
<p>	Frisk wasn’t sure how many times she’d gone through the Underground, getting ending after ending, saving the best one for when she felt like she couldn’t stand one more reset. But she had to. She was DETERMINED to save everyone. No matter the cost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this for my best friend Jessica, who dragged me into this fandom that I cannot leave.

Frisk sat on the bed of golden flowers, looking up at the hole they had fallen down so many times. Or, maybe they only fell down once and just woke up in the flower field. Since they couldn’t actually remember falling.

With a sigh she pushed herself up off the ground, the last time had been for the happy ending, and she had just finished her conversation with Flowey. Asking her not to reset, to let everyone be happy. How many times had Asriel asked that? She was losing count of her resets.

She knew he wouldn’t remember. His mind was erased with everyone else's at the end of every true reset. She rubbed her nose and sniffed as she felt like crying. It was okay to cry though, she just fell from a very high height. That’s the reason she was crying, not the fact she kept losing her friend.

Stepping into the other room she saw Flowey in the patch of green. She took a deep breath, decided to take the hit and let him attack her this time, and stepped forward.

Sometimes, she wondered what it would be like to stay with Toriel in the ruins. But the dreams always made her feel anxious, so she never stayed longer than a few days. She loved hearing the snail facts though, and after the first day, Toriel would start telling her dumb puns. She never thought she’d love puns so much.

She knew the ruins like the back of her hand. She felt like she knew everything possible about this world. However...last reset she’d learned something. In the Judgement hall. She’d spoken to Sans, and after, she’d realized she’d forgotten something, so she’d loaded, and gone back.

Sans speech was different. He’d told her everything, just like before, but at the end...he’d asked for something. He’d given her a code, to prove she was a time traveler. Which, scared her a little, because she didn’t think anyone remembered.

So she’d loaded. And...well the codeword was just as silly as Sans. Then he’d given her the secret, secret code word. And she started to wonder if this was some big joke.

So she’d loaded again. And when she told him this one, he’d said that it was childish, and it wasn’t a secret secret code word. He’d even said that whoever told her was a dirty liar, which frustrated her, but made her giggle at the same time.

He then admitted to having a secret, secret triple secret code word, which was what she just said. Maybe he’d forgotten his own system. Or he was just being lazy and had skipped ahead a few code words.

Sans then said he was going to give her a key, which was somehow already on her keychain. But she’d given up questioning Sans. And the Annoying Dogs. She...she would rather not think about the Annoying Dogs ever again.

At first she’d wondered if it was worth it, but...she was a little curious about what was in his room. It looked like it was on fire. It wasn’t on fire, it was dark, and she’d somehow gotten lost on a treadmill. 

Papyrus had come in, turning on the light. He’d mentioned that Sans liked to trick people across time and space. It made her wonder how much Sans and Papyrus knew.

Frisk searched the room once he was gone. Ignoring the nerd comment from Sans, and the icky sock pile. She found a silver key in his drawer. She knew there was a locked shed behind their house, this had to be the key.

She wasn’t sure what to expect inside. There was a strange machine, with blueprints she couldn’t read. A photo album of Sans and some people she didn’t know. He looked happier than she’d seen him before. She’d stared at the pictures for longer than she should have, and she ignored the badge. It didn’t make sense anyway.

This reset, she was going to ask Sans what all of that was. She wasn’t going to let him pun his way out of this one. She was Determined. Besides...maybe he could help.

She cried every time Toriel made her fight her. She called her mom and asked her not to fight. But every time it ended the same way. 

She exited the ruins door and took a deep breath, shivering slightly from the cold. “Heya kid.” She froze and looked ahead, Sans. “Think we could talk?”

She nodded and walked over to him. He was leaning against one of the trees, just watching her. She was nervous. This had never happened before.

“What did you think of my dirt sock pile?” He asked her suddenly. 

Her eyes widened before she swallowed. “You remember…”

He nodded. “Yeah, I remember every time you’ve been through her. Every time you’ve hit that reset button. Every time you broke the barrier only to-” he stopped suddenly.

Frisk was crying. “I didn’t know anyone could remember.” She sobbed. “It’s been so hard.”

Sans shifted his weight nervously. “Ah come on kid. Don’t cry. Ah jeeze. Kid...why do you keep doing this?”

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “I’m trying to get the happy ending. I…” she shook her head. “I can make every happy but him. And he says he’s happy but it’s not fair. I don’t want to leave him down here.”

Sans watched her for a moment. “Who are you talking about kid?”

Frisk shook her head. “He asked me not to talk about him. But he knows you.”

The white in Sans eyes disappeared. “You’re talking about that flower, aren’t you? Do you know how many times he’s killed everyone here? Kid, he ain’t worth saving.”

Frisk glared at him. “Don’t say that!” She sniffed. “Don’t say that.”

He sighed. “Fine. But I’m not helping you. You’re doing this on your own.” He huffed. “Meet you at the bridge.” He walked into the woods.

Frisk took a deep breath and composed herself before she continued on her way. She didn’t like hurting Sans, but there was no other way. He didn’t understand. Maybe...maybe it would be okay to tell Sans about Asriel, as long as he promises not to tell anyone.

She went through the Underground again. Every time she tried to talk with Sans he’d take one of his shortcuts and disappear. It was getting frustrating. Even when they had their set meeting points, he’d only say what he always said. Even when she brought something else up, he’d continue with what he was saying.

She was getting upset, and just felt like resetting early. She was also tired. She might have known every attack, every ACT that she could use, but some of the attacks were random, and she didn’t have anything to eat left.

She hated dying. She didn’t like the feeling, and the fact that she could hear Asgor speaking to her when it happened. Sometimes she wondered what would happen if she wasn’t Determined enough to continue.

She saw Sans outside of MTT and sighed, she trudged over to him. “Could I get something to eat before we talk?”

He sighed. “Come on kid, follow me.” He took Frisks hand and led her down the empty alley way.

The next thing Frisk knew she was in Grillby’s. She took a deep breath and licked her lips. “I love this place.” She looked next to her and her eyes widened. Sans was gone. 

One of the monsters at the bar called her over. “Hey, Sans said this was for you.” He pointed to a plate on the bar.

Frisk sighed and climbed onto the stool. At least Sans was still looking out for her.

She went through the rest of the Underground, made friends with everyone, danced and posed with Mettaton, listened to the story of Asriel and Chara, which made her cry every time, and fought Asgor. She always sobbed when she fought him.

She listened to Flowey tell her that it was always kill or be killed. Watched as he took the souls and became a very strange giant plant thing. She cried out and relaxed when the other souls heard her and listened.

This time, though, before loading. She felt like someone was watching her. There was no one around, only Flowey telling her she could get a better ending. Was there someone there? In the darkness? Could there be someone watching her?

…

…

…

*Reset*


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start derailing from the script a bit

She rushed through the ruins this time. That feeling of being followed continued. She normally would hear whispers, telling her things, but...she always thought it was her own thoughts. Not anymore. Now when she chose *CHECK, it was almost like someone was whispering in her ear.

Sans was waiting outside of the ruins again. “ Why kid? Why do you keep doing this? ” He looked tired.

Frisk took a deep breath and looked around. “He doesn’t remember, and you don’t know, but I do. And...that look in his eyes when he finally…” tears filled her eyes. “And how he tells me to leave him...that he’ll be okay. But I know he won’t. Even if he tells me again...I know he won’t…”

Sans shoved his hands in his pocket. “ What are you talking about kid? ”

Frisk rubbed her nose. “Asriel.” Sans jumped. “Asriel is Flowey. He asked me not to tell anyone. To let him go.”

Sans sighed. “ The Prince? Kid...he died years ago. That’s what started this whole thing with Asgore. ”

Frisk shook her head. “No. You don’t understand. Dr. Alphys did something, I don’t really understand it. Flowey is Asriel without a soul. I’m trying...I don’t...I can’t just leave him down here.”

Sans shook his head. “ Kid… ”

Frisk shook her head. “No. Just...please help. If you can remember, then maybe together we can save him. Doesn’t he deserve the happy ending as well?”

Sans looked away. “ You don’t know what he did. ”

Frisk looked at him. “Neither do you.” Sans gave her a sharp look. “He’s the one that broke the barrier, not me. Doesn’t he get to enjoy that?”

Sans looked back at the door to the Ruins. “ You’ve been running through this timeline quite a bit. I don’t know what I could change. I’m sorry kid. ”

Frisk nodded. “I can’t give up.” she bit her lip. “Could you just...keep your eyes open? If you see anything, anything at all…”

Sans grinned. “ I’ll give you a ring.” He pushed away from the tree he was leaning against. “ We’d better get to Papyrus before he turns into a Paps-cycle. ”

Frisk giggled and nodded.

She noticed Flowey following her. She couldn’t remember if he’d done that in the last resets or not. She always figured he was following her, but it was different to actually see him. She caught a glimpse of him when she was heading back from Papyrus’s final puzzle. She always secretly wished he’d use it so she could find out if she could beat it.

No matter how many times she did his puzzles, she still loved them. She loved how excited he became when he spoke of his puzzles, and how flustered he was on their ‘date’. Papyrus was one of her best friends, even if his cooking was...questionable. She still couldn’t make herself try his spaghetti.

She didn’t have the heart to tell him humans didn’t descend from skeletons either. She was sitting with him on his bed, playing with his action figures, when he suddenly paused. “ DO YOU KNOW IF SANS IS IN THE HOUSE? ”

Frisk became confused. This was a new conversation. She shook her head and watched as he stood and disappeared. He came back after a moment, and looked concerned. He was messing with his hands. 

“ FRISK, YOU AND I ARE BEST FRIENDS, YES? ” Frisk nodded. “ GOOD, AND THAT MEANS WE CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING, YES? ” Frisk nodded again. “ MY BROTHER...SANS HAS STARTED HAVING NIGHTMARES AGAIN, IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE HIS LAST ONE. I...HE TOLD ME ONCE, ABOUT...ABOUT THE RESETS. HAVE YOU BEEN...HOW MANY HAVE WE BEEN THROUGH? ”

Frisk stared at him for a moment. She lowered her head. “Papyrus I’m so-”

He waved his hand and smiled. “ NO NEED TO EXPLAIN MY FRIEND! I AM SURE THAT YOU HAVE GREAT REASONING FOR THE RESETS! ” his smile fell. “ THOUGH, IF YOU COULD HELP MY BROTHER THROUGH THIS...I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL. ”

Frisk smiled. “I’ll try my best Papyrus.”

Out of all the fights, Frisk hated the Undyne one the most. Having to run for her life was never fun. Having to dodge magic spears just made it worse. Though she did enjoy the look on Undyne’s face after she gave her the water.

Every time she saw Alphys after the first true happy ending, she just wanted to hug her. She wanted to tell her that she was perfect and amazing and she didn’t need to make Mettaton attack her just to be friends with her.

But it was easier to just follow the rules. Weird things happened when she didn’t. She’d see doors that led to dark rooms, and people that talked about another scientist before Alphys. She tried not to think to hard about those kinds of things.

She loved finding out all of the little things about the Underground. Like the key that Bratty and Catty had. She’d been shocked to find out Mettaton had once been a ghost. It made her a little more sad for Napstablook, and she’d spent a few hours just staring at the cosmos with him. 

She liked calling Papyrus, just to hear his voice, while she was walking through the Underground. Even though she knew she’d never get an answer, she’d still call Tortiel. Just to give her some sign that she was alive still. 

Frisk paused outside of Asgore’s home. She wasn’t sure she was ready to hear that story again. She wasn’t ready to find that knife and know she had to use it. She wasn’t ready to find the locket...and feel the safety it gave her. 

She pulled out her phone and called Papyrus. “ Heya Kid, was just about to call you. Don’t fight Asgore. ”

Frisk looked at her phone. “Why not?”

Sans huffed. “ Just reset kid. I went and looked over a few things, and something is looking weird. Might be weird enough to check up on, but I’d need more time, and really don’t feel like being attacked by that flower again. ”

Frisk never felt comfortable resetting in the middle of a run. “I...I guess I can do that. Anything you want from the ruins?”

Sans was silent for a moment. “ Just take your time with Tori this time. ” he hung up.

Frisk sighed and shivered. She had to die to reset. She wondered if Sans knew that. She wondered if he knew how many times she had died. She sighed, she might as well listen to the story and let Asgore kill her.

…

…

…

*Critical Hit

…

…

Continue    Reset

… 

… 

…

*Reset*


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk meets an unexpected character

Frisk spent over a week with Toriel, enjoying her teachings and snail pies. As yuck as that sounded she loved them, she’d even asked Toriel to teach her how to make the butterscotch pie she always got the first night.

She made friends with all the Froggets and played with them when Toriel was busy. She helped the spiders move around the ruins, giggling when they tickled her. She explored every cavern and met every monster hiding down there. 

Finally, when the dreams became too much she asked Toriel how she could leave the Ruins.

When the door opened, she expected to go through and find Sans. She was surprised to see no one was there. 

She hesitantly stepped through and let the door close behind her. She froze when she was suddenly thrown into a battle. 

This was wrong. This was different. What was going on? A large hound sat in front of her, a bone tail wrapped around his legs. Part of his spine and ribs were showing and the top half of his skull down to his muzzle was showing.

There were only question marks his name was. He attacked her with bones, throwing them at her. She dodged and looked at her options.

Fight   Act   Item   Mercy

*Act

Cry   Check   Talk

*Check

Frisk flinched as an error message filled her vision and suddenly he attacked again. This time with fire. She dodged again, stumbling slightly and getting her arm singed.

*Act

*Talk

*You ask him who he is

*His head cocks to the side. He doesn’t attack this turn.

Frisk took a moment to relax and catch her breath. She looked at the monster, he was still watching her.

*Act

*Talk

*You tell him you don’t want to fight

His head tilts again and his tail flicks. Nothing attacks her.

*Ara is sparing you 

Frisk relaxes and hits Mercy. The battle ends and she takes a deep breath. He suddenly stands and walks over to her. “ Do you have any idea what you’ve been doing to the timeline? Reset, reset, reset. It’s all the same every time. Are you that bored? Do you have that much time on your hands? ”

Frisk stared at him. “I...I’m trying to help my friend.”

He walked around her, his tail curling around her. “ A friend? You’re  _ human _ . You don’t have friends. Trust me, I’ve met many  _ humans _ in my time. You’re the ones that should be called monsters. ”

Frisk tried to step back, but the point of his tail pressed into her back. “I haven’t hurt anyone. I’ve just been trying to help. Who...who are you?”

He hummed. “ You can call me Ara. Now, tell me everything so I can fix this. And start from the beginning with the first time you fell. I need to know everything if I’m going to keep humans from destroying this home as well. ”

Frisk nodded. “Alright, but I’m supposed to meet Sans…”

Ara quickly looked down the path and Frisk yelped when he slid his head between her legs, lifting her up onto his shoulders. He darted through the forest.

Frisk shouted and ducked down as tree branches hit her. She held tightly to Ara’s neck to keep herself from falling off. 

Ara stopped once he deemed they were far enough away and shook her off of him. He looked down at her. “ Sans doesn’t need to know we’re having this conversation. Now, tell me everything. ”

Frisk looked up at him from where she sat on the ground. She huffed and nodded. “It all started when I climbed Mt. Ebbot…”

Ara sat with his head bowed and his tail twitching as she finished her tale. He glanced up at the tops of the trees before he huffed and looked back at her. He stood and paced for a moment, his tail trailing in the snow behind him.

Frisk glanced around. She wondered if Sans even knew she’d left the Ruins yet. Her cell phone rang. 

Ara didn’t stop pacing, so she answered it. “Hello?”

“ You alright kid? I noticed a commotion at the beginning of the ruins. ” Sans.

Frisk glanced at Ara. “I’m alright. I just...I met someone.”

Ara looked at her and shook his head. He scratched the snow before he sighed. “ Tell Sans that I am bringing you back. I shall be following you through this time. To make sure that what you say is true. ”

Frisk didn’t bother argueing. She knew she couldn’t stop him. “Sans, I met a new monster. He says he’s going to bring me back to you.”

Sans was quiet for a moment. “ Alright kid. Be safe. ” click.

Ara scratched at the snow while she put away her phone. He lowered himself down and hummed. “ Up. ” Frisk stared at him and he sighed. “ I’ll go slow this time. ”

She still didn’t quite believe him, but she didn’t have any other options, so she climbed onto his back. True to his word, he was slower than the last time, however the run still shook her up a bit. He hesitated once they reached the path.

Frisk slid off of his back. “Are you coming?”

He shook himself. “ Of course. It’s just been awhile since I’ve...well since I’ve seen anyone really. ”

Frisk wondered what it was like for him. Being all alone. Why hadn’t he shown up in the other timelines? Did he leave when she would get the best ending? Who would want to be alone? She sighed and started walking down the path.

Ara walked slightly behind her, his tail flicking in the snow. Sans suddenly appeared in front of them. His eyes narrowed when he spotted Ara. “ Hey kid. Pick up a stray? ”

Ara rolled his eyes and sat down. “ Oh ha ha. How humerous. ”

Sans hesitated, and Frisk looked back at him when he made the pun. His voice had sounded slightly less mean, though not enough to have the pun make sense.

Ara sighed. “ I’ll be following the human around this timeline. I want to make sure she keeps to her word. ” his tail flicked.

Sans looked at Frisk and she sighed. “He doesn’t believe I don’t hurt anyone.”

Sans nodded. “ Well, I guess we should all go see Papyrus then. He’ll be excited to meet a new friend. ”

Ara shook his head. “ I will not be seen while I am following her. I only let you see me because the human recieved a call from you. I shall watch from my own vantage point. ” he looked at Frisk. “ I will be watching. ” he turned and walked off, disappearing into the forest.

Sans watched where he disappeared. “ Well that guy really gave you the  _ cold _ shoulder. ” 

Frisk giggled. She decided to ignore Ara for now, since he didn’t seem to want to speak with her much. She nodded to Sans to continue down the path and headed after him.

Frisk felt like she was being watched the entire timeline. She made sure to make this a great run, and didn’t hurt anyone, not that she ever did. She made it all the way to the Undyne fight before she had her first death of the run.

Ara was waiting for her by the SAVE spot. His tail twitched. “ Does it hurt when you die? ” he was looking at the mountain top Undyne had been on.

Frisk shrugged. “A little, yeah.” Sans had never asked her if it hurt to die.

Ara nodded. “ Continue on. ”

Frisk watched him for a moment before she nodded and headed back to the fight. She managed this time, and got to Mettaton before she died again. She woke up by the fountain and grabbed some water, splashing it on her face.

“ I have to admit, Mettaton is a wonderfully built machine. ” Ara was lying wrapped around the fountain. He was big enough to wrap around half of it, his tail wrapped around the rest. “ He is quite vain though. How do you plan to beat him without killing him? ”

Frisk hopped up on the fountain ledge and sat down. “Once he reaches a certain amount of viewers he stops the fight. Also his body isn’t done, so it starts to fall apart on him. I don’t mind, I like Mettaton once we become friends.”

Ara hummed and Frisk noticed his eyes glow green for a moment before dimming back to normal. “ You are getting very close to the castle. ”

Frisk sighed and looked up. “I have to fight Asgore.” he sat up. “He destroys my Mercy button. It gives me no other option. I...I haven’t made friends with Alphys yet, meaning Asgore is going to die in this timeline.”

Ara unwrapped from the fountain. “ Then go make friends with her. The King can’t die. Asgore… ” he stopped.

Frisk sighed. “I have to do this route before I can help him live. I fight him, he dies. I fight Flowey, I spare him. I Load my last Save and get a call from Undyne, saying she needs me for something. Then I can be friends with Alphys.”

Ara’s tail whipped back and forth. He looked agitated, other monsters were starting to stare. He stood. “ Fine. But don’t expect me to watch. ” he walked off.

Frisk sighed and slid off the fountain ledge. She headed back to Burger Pants to buy more Mettaton steaks and GlamBurgers.

Frisk always went down and looked at the coffins. She wasn’t sure why. It was just something she always did before everything happened. It was...sad, seeing them all lined up like that. It was different then seeing their souls. These were actual  _ proof _ that these kids were dead.

Ara was sitting, staring at the coffins. “ I didn’t know he was killing children. ” he spoke suddenly. “ I’ve hidden away for so long...I had no idea he was killing children. ” he looked at Frisk. “ He lost his own children, why would he put others through that pain? ”

Frisk shook her head. “I don’t know.” she didn’t have an answer. “Maybe because children are the only humans that fall down here.” she didn’t think Asgore was picky with the humans he killed.

Ara stood. “ I need you to reset. ”

Frisk took a step back. “Why?”

He sighed. “ Because I’ve decided to...help you. You haven’t hurt anyone. And you’re trying to help get everyone out of here. With the way Asgore is now, there'll be another war. I’ve already been through one, and don’t want to go through another. ”

Frisk didn’t meet many monsters who said they were in the war. She wanted to know more about it. “You were in the war?”

His tail flicked. “ Yes. Which is why I don’t like your kind. However, you seem...different. I didn’t even like Chara this much.” he mumbled to himself for a moment before he stretched and they were suddenly in battle.

* Sorry, I noticed you have to die to Reset

Fight   Act   Item   Mercy

*Act

*Talk

*You ask Ara why he’s doing this

Frisk jumped back as she was suddenly attacked with fire, she dodged as quickly as she could, still getting burnt.

Fight   Act   Item   Mercy

*Mercy

Ara looks away and she was suddenly surrounded by bones. She jumped and ducked, trying to get out of the way. Her HP was low, and she’s breathing deeply, bleeding. 

Fight   Act   Item   Mercy

*Mer-

Ara’s tail darted from around him and went straight through her heart.

*Critical hit

…

…

Continue    Reset

*Reset*


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ara follows Frisk around the Underground and she learned a little about him

Frisk went quickly through the Ruins. She was angry, and upset. Ara had  _ killed  _ her. She tried not to take her frustration out on Toriel, but she could tell that Toriel noticed she was distant. She decided to stay one day, just to make up for it.

Ara was waiting for her outside of the Ruins. Frisk narrowed her eyes. “You killed me.” she crossed her arms.

He rolled his eyes. “ Yes. I did kill you. However here you are. Now come, we have Skele-bros to meet. ”

Frisk shook her head. “No. I’m not going anywhere with you. Who are you? Why are you helping me?”

He looked away before he stood and Frisk shouted when he put his head between her legs and lifted her onto his shoulders. He started walking. “ My name is Ara, I was in the war. I worked with King Asgore. I also worked with the Royal Scientist before Dr. Alphys. I’ve been living on my own since a little after Asriel and Chara died. I didn’t want to go through another war. ”

Frisk looked down at him. “Dr. W.D. Gaster. I’ve heard people talk about him.”

Ara hummed. “ Strange. Not many people remember him. ”

Sans was suddenly in front of them. His eyes narrowed slightly. “ Watching one timeline wasn’t enough? You had to kill the kid and do it again? ”

Ara huffed and rolled his eyes. “ Killing this human was the only option. I needed them to reset. It wasn’t like you’ve been doing anything to help. ”

Sans hands curled into fists. “ I’m looking for someone. ”

Ara’s tail twitched. “ You’re looking for a deadman. ”

Frisk slid off his shoulders and went to head over to Sans, Ara blocked her with his tail. Sans stepped forward, his left eye glowed blue. “ Let the Kid go. Unless you’re looking for a bad time. ”

Ara hesitated before he lowered his tail.  He sat down and glanced around. “ I’m going through this timeline with the human. I will permit them to go through your brothers puzzles. ”

Sans sighed. “ Well then, let’s not  _ paws _ any longer. ”

Frisk looked at Ara when he snorted and put a paw over his nose. He shook his head and stood. “ You’re right, we should go before he gets to  _ bonely _ . ”

Sans looked confused for a moment before he grabbed Frisks hand and started walking. Ara walked behind them, he was looking around at everything, and his tail twitched when they reached the convenient lamp.

Frisk went to go hide behind it, and Sans tightened his grip. Papyrus walked down the path. “ SANS, WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS? ”

Sans took a deep breath. “ Bro, remember when I told you about the Resets? Well this is Frisk. She’s human. ”

Papyrus’s eye’s widened comically and he walked over. “ HELLO HUMAN! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! DO YOU LIKE PUZZLES HUMAN? ”

Frisk nodded quickly. “Oh yes. I love puzzles. Do you have any I could do?” 

Ara rolled his eyes and huffed. Papyrus smiled. “ OF COURSE! THEY WERE DESIGNED TO CAPTURE A HUMAN THOUGH...BUT IF YOU GET STUCK THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL HELP YOU! ”

Ara yawned and stretched. Papyrus finally noticed him. “ OH! I DID NOT SEE YOU! ARE YOU A FRIEND OF SANS? DO YOU LIKE PUZZLES AS WELL? ”

Sans quickly turned to glare at Ara, and saw Ara staring at Papyrus. Ara smiled. “ While I do enjoy puzzles, I would hate to steal the fun from the human. ”

Sans nudged Frisk. “ Cmon bro. Let’s see if the human can figure out your puzzles. ”

Papyrus became excited and Frisk ran over to him, taking his hand. He smiled at her and they started down the path. Ara walked behind Frisk, he lowered his head slightly when he walked past Sans.

Frisk enjoyed the puzzles even more than before. She laughed and giggled, though she always felt bad when Papyrus shocked himself. She was never tempted by the spaghetti, but she saw Ara sniff at it when they passed.

Once they reached the bridge Ara sat on the other side, and he sat up nervously when Papyrus showed her the puzzle. He dug his paw into the snow and stood, pacing slightly as Papyrus explained.  

He didn’t relax until Papyrus decided it might be too dangerous for his new friend and turned it off.

He darted across the bridge and Frisk jumped when she was suddenly on his shoulders. “ No more puzzles. They are becoming dangerous and I do not trust you not to hurt yourself. ”

Frisk giggled and put her hand on his head. “Are you worried about me?”

Ara grumbled something before he crossed the bridge. He stopped suddenly and she felt a shiver go through him. “ I...I have not been in town in many years. ”

Papyrus looked at him. “ ARE YOU AFRAID? ” Ara glared at him. “ DO NOT BE AFRAID! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE TO PROTECT YOU! ”

Ara huffed. “ It’s a shame you’re not a part of the Royal Guard, you’d be wonderful at it. ” he started walking into Snowdin.

Frisk smiled. “That was very kind of you to say.”

He glanced up at her. “ It was nothing but the truth. ”

People looked at them as they walked, whispering. Ara kept his head down, and Frisk noticed his tail was flicking back and forth behind them. She put a hand on his head. “It’s going to be nice, not fighting in this timeline. I hate fighting them, over and over. I’ve wondered, how bad they feel when I die. Because they just want to play.”

Ara stopped when they reached Grillby’s. He stared at the building. “The first time I saw a human die, I was confused, because they didn’t turn to dust. And it was...scary. I thought they were just sleeping. But then King Asgore...he taught me different.”

Sans stepped up next to him. “ Its rare to meet a monster from the war. No many of you guys still around. ”

Ara glanced at him before he shook himself, causing Frisk to rock and giggle. “ Not many of us want to still be around. Where are we going? ”

Papyrus grinned. “ YOU AND THE HUMAN WILL BE FOLLOWING THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WHERE WE WILL GO TO SANS AND I’S HOME FOR LUNCH AND WONDERFULLY SPLENDID CONVERSATION .”

Ara sighed but followed Papyrus as he marched off. Sans stayed next to him, watching Frisk. She smiled at him.

Ara refused to go into their home. He sat outside of it and curled up, telling Frisk to take her time with the brothers. Frisk decided to talk with Papyrus and help him make lunch. She didn’t know where Sans was.

Ara glanced up when the door opened. Sans stepped out. “ You know, I don’t trust you. But the kid seems to like you. If you even think about hurting her again. ” the light disappeared from his eyes and he didn’t finish his threat.

Ara huffed. “ How is no one angry that he is killing children? I know humans are monstrosities. I’ve seen it, but kids...kids can’t fight back. Not without a lot of hatred. And that kid doesn’t look like she could hate anyone. How many times have the people here killed her? ”

Sans sat down next to him, leaning against the wall. He pulled out a ketchup packet and sucked on it for a moment. “ What are you planning on doing? ”

Ara shrugged. “ Asgore was my friend, maybe I can talk to him. I...the human said she was looking for someone. But refuses to tell me who. I’m not sure how to help with that part. ”

Sans looked at him. “ You could help with my part. I’m looking for Dr. Gaster. I know what happened to him, but he can’t be gone. ”

Ara sat up and looked at him. His head tilted before he stretched and yawned. “ Fine, though I don’t want to leave the human alone. ”

Sans shrugged. “ She can stay with Papyrus. ” he smiled. “ Hey, what do you call a skeleton who uses the doorbell? A dead ringer. ”

Ara snorted and laughed. He shook his head. “ That was a real  _ rib _ tickler. ”

Sans chuckled. “ I thought it was a little  _ ruff _ . ”

Ara shook his head as he laughed. “ You’re right, it was  _ pawful _ . ”

The door opened and they heard giggling under a very annoyed groan. “NOT ANOTHER ONE! ”

Sans grinned. “ Hey bro, what’s a skeleton’s favorite instrument? ”

Papyrus narrowed his eyes. “DON'T YOU DARE - ”

“ A trom- _ bone _ . ” Sans and Ara burst into giggles and chuckles. Frisk covered her mouth as she laughed.

Papyrus groaned but was smiling.

Ara sighed. “ I missed this. ” they all looked at him. “ I didn’t think I would miss people this much. ”

Frisk hugged him. Papyrus’s phone rang. He grinned. “HELLO ? OH...UNDYNE. WELL YES...WELL UNDYNE YOU SEE… ” his smile fell and he looked nervous. “YES UNDYNE . OF COURSE UNDYNE. I...OH...WELL GOODBYE. ” he hung up and looked at Sans, he looked upset. “UNDYNE HAS HEARD OF THE HUMAN . SHE IS COMING SANS .”

Ara stood and stretched. He looked at Frisk. “ We should meet her. This town doesn’t need fighting. Sans, Papyrus, we shall call you after we meet with Undyne. ”

Frink climbed onto Ara’s shoulders and he started walking. They went to Waterfall and Ara jumped when he saw Sans behind the booth. He shook his head and nudged the echo flower, whispering before continuing on.

She stopped him before he could leave and quickly ran over to Monster Kid. She talked with them for awhile before she looked at the sparkling SAVE point. She walked over and lightly touched the glowing star.

*(The sound of rushing water fills you with Determination.)

Save   Return

*Save

She rushed back to Ara and he bowed down, allowing her to climb back on his shoulders. She climbed up and he started walking.

Frisk looked at him. “I love this place. It’s beautiful. It’s...sad. That some of these people have never seen stars.”

He hummed. “ I loved stars. And the moon. Being able to see at night all because of a giant rock in the sky...it amazed me. When we came down here...I was so angry. I wanted to keep fighting. I wanted to keep hurting them. But...Asgore talked me down. He reminded me that we didn’t have to fight. He taught me mercy. ”

Frisk looked at him. “Are you angry with him? About what he’s doing?”

Ara sighed. “ I understand they killed his children. But...the war...he told me that war wasn’t the answer. He wanted to talk to the humans. He wanted peace. But now...I left when he declared war again. I couldn’t do it again. I wouldn’t lose myself again. ” He stopped when they reached the waterfall with the falling rocks.

She smiled. “There is a bridge. But it doesn’t lead the other side. Just to another echo flower.” which had told her about the camera. She wondered what Alphys made of this.

He huffed and walked through the water, carefully avoiding the rocks. He stopped on the other side and shook himself. Frisk laughed as she was tossed from side to side quickly. He scratched at the ground. “ If you are worried, do not be. I will not let anyone fight you. ”

Frisk looked at him. “Why are you helping me? You don’t even know why I’m doing this. You said you didn’t like humans.”

He sighed. “ I’ve had a lot to think about lately. And I think siding with you would help monsters. Besides, you said you don’t hurt them. That’s good. That’s perfect. I don’t want anyone hurt. I’ve seen too many of my friends die. ”

They entered the next hall and Frisk squealed. “Quick, in the reeds.” she jumped from his shoulders and ran into the grass. Ara watched her for a moment before he followed.

He lowered himself to the ground as he noticed Undyne. Papyrus walked over to her. “ H-HI UNDYNE. ABOUT THE HUMAN...OH WELL...DID I FIGHT THEM? WELL NO...YOU SEE...OH...WELL UNDYNE SANS...YES UNDYNE, OF COURSE .” he turned and left quickly.

Frisk looked concerned for a moment before she went to move. Undyne froze, spotting her. She marched over, raising her spear, before she shook her head and lowered it, walking off.

Frisk stepped out of the reeds and sighed. “She’s mad at him.” she didn’t want to ruin anyone's friendships.

Ara stepped out and shook himself. Monster Kid suddenly came out of the reed. “That was awesome! Did you see the way she looked at you? Wow, you are so lucky!” they went to run off, tripping and falling.

Ara walked over and nudged them up. “ Watch your step small one. The path may look straight and even, but roots hide just below the surface. ”

Monster kid nodded. “Thank you.” they skipped off.

Frisk followed and smiled when she saw the next SAVE. She saw Ara watching her as she reached out and touched it. 

*(A feeling of dread hangs over you…) (But you stay Determined)

Save   Return

*Save

She looked at him. “Can you see it? The SAVE?”

He shook his head. “ No. I cannot. I do not have the Determination that you do. ” his tail came around and the tip tapped where her heart was. “ I do not have the type of soul you do. ”

Frisk stared at him for a moment before she shook her head. “Come on, there’s a flower puzzle up ahead. I know the answers already.” 

Ara wanted to try the second puzzle. He looked around the room, testing the flow of the water. His tail flicked back and forth. “ This would be easier with hands. ” he mumbled. His eyes glowed green and the flowers lifted from the ground, landing softly in the water, where they bloomed into a bridge.

Frisk’s eyes widened. “How did you do that?” 

He hummed and looked at her. “ I can’t pick things up like this, not easily and I normally damage them. I use magic to hold and grab things for me. ”

She walked across the flowers and smiled when her phone rang. “Hello?”

“ HELLO HUMAN! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SANS GAVE ME YOUR NUMBER. I WAS JUST WONDERING... WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? IT’S FOR A FRIEND. ” Papyrus always cheered her up.

Frisk hummed. “A bandana.” she reached up and started taking off the bandana while she held the phone with her shoulder.

“ NYEH HEH HEH! I SHALL INFORM THEM YOU ARE WEARING A BANDANNA. THANK YOU HUMAN! ” he hung up.

Frisk smiled and put the bandana in her pocket. “Undyne is looking for us. Papyrus is covering by telling her the truth, but expecting me to change so he’s technically not telling her the truth.”

Ara hummed. He stretched and nudged her. “ Come on. ” she walked next to him this time, and they entered the wishing room.

Frisk froze when he walked over to one of the things on the wall, the writings of monsters. He stood on his hind legs and looked at it. His eyes glowed green and his tail flicked back and forth quickly. “ I used to come here. With Dr. Gaster. And… I used to wish that I could take the violence back. I used to wish that I could be more useful. ” 

Frisk walked over to him and put a hand on his side. “We might not be able to take back the past, but we can make a better future. And you’ve very useful, you’re helping me free monsters.”

He looked at her. “ The first time you freed everyone, how long did you stay on the surface before you reset? ”

Frisk hesitated. “A little over a month. Humans were really nice to monsters, and everyone was adjusting really well. Mom became a school teacher, and Papyrus finally got his car. Asgore made art out of the hedges. Everything was really nice.”

He started walking. “ I hope your reason for taking that away was worth the price. ” he headed down the hall and stopped when he saw the wall. “ City monsters can’t even make a decent puzzle anymore. ” he hit the wall and the door opened.

Frisk stayed behind him. She knew what was in the next room. She’d read those words over and over. She just didn’t know how he would react.

Ara froze when he noticed the writing. He growled and turned, he slid his head under Frisk and she scrambled to settle on his back. He marched past the writing. “ The war. That war. Humans...they attacked over  _ nothing _ we weren’t trying to take their souls. We weren’t fighting because we wanted power. The humans attacked  _ us _ . They attacked all because they didn’t know how to use their souls like we did. ” he stepped onto the moving platform and wrapped his tail around Frisk before sitting down. She found she couldn’t move. “ The humans  _ wanted _ to hurt us, making their attacks more damaging, and in the beginning...we didn’t want to fight. ”

The platform stopped and he stood, stepping off of it. Frisk jumped off and ran. Ara called after her, but she didn’t want Undyne seeing them together. She didn’t want to risk anything, what if he was hurt? She could tell he hated fighting, and she wouldn’t make him fight his own kind. Not for her.

Undyne attacked the moment she was on the platforms. She could hear Ara behind her, but she focused on running.

She tripped and the spears hit her.

She ran into another.

She wasn’t fast enough to avoid the rest.

…

…

…

Continue   Reset

*Continue


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ara gets a little protective of Frisk

Frisk woke up by her last SAVE point. Ara was waiting for her, he looked...panicked. “ _ Never _ do that again. You stay with me at all times or I’ll...I’ll...I don’t know what I’ll do but I can’t have you dying. That stupid fish. ”

Frisk bit her lip and climbed onto his back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to get hurt.” 

He huffed and started walking. “ I have better defences that you think. ” he was silent for the rest of the journey.

Once they reached the long walkway he started walking. The first spear made him stop and Undyne appeared. She hesitated when she saw him, but her spears appeared just the same.

Ara seemed to grin and his eyes glowed green. He took off running, dodging quickly and where he couldn’t dodge his tail would grab the spear and throw it away from them. This only made Undyne attack faster, and with more spears. 

Frisk could almost see the end. She leaned forward. “Once we reach the end hide in the reeds.” she whispered in his ear.

He shook out his head and his speed increased. Frisk saw the reeds and once they were hidden jumped off his back. She froze when he wrapped his tail around her, pulling her close.

Undyne walked into the reeds. She stopped and reached down, grabbing someone. She pulled up Monster Kid before she slowly set him down and walked off.

Frisk wiggled free and headed out of the reeds. Ara followed her. “ What part of, stay with me at all times, don’t you understand? ”

She looked troubled. “Undyne still attacked you. I thought she wouldn’t because I was with a monster.”

Monster Kid came out of the reeds. “Yo….did you see that?” he looked excited. “Undyne just….TOUCHED ME!” he squealed. “I’m never washing my face every again!” he looked at Frisk. “Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a little bit to the left…! Yo, don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll see her again!” He went to run off and tripped falling on his face.

Ara rolled his eyes and went to help when he picked himself up and ran off. Ara watched him go. “ That child is very obsessed with this Undyne. ”

Frisk smiled. “Undyne is a hero down here. She’s Captain of the Royal Guard.”

Ara rolled his eyes. “ That job is mostly paperwork and patrols. Trust me. ”

Frisk chuckled. “Come on, the next room is safe.” she headed into the next room. Ara looked at the crystal with the cheese inside. “Do they ever get the cheese?”

Frisk giggled. “Yeah.” she walked over to the SAVE.

*(Knowing the mouse might one day extract the cheese from the mystical crystal…) (It fills you up with Determination)

Save   Return

*Save

Frisk climbed onto his back. “Come on. I want to get to the next room.” she giggled when he shook himself, nearly knocking her off.

He headed into the next room and paused when he saw Sans. Sans smirked. “ Heya, hows your trip going? ”

Ara shifted his weight. “ Just fine, if the human would listen to me. ”

Sans chuckled. “ Yeah, Frisk likes to run off on their own. It’s all that Determination. I’m almost done with my math, to get my friend. I’m almost positive he can help us. ”

Frisk grinned. “Just tell me what you need Sans.” her eyes widened. “Oh, I have gold, let’s get some Nice Cream.” she scrambled off Ara’s back and ran through the nearby doorway.

Ara went to follow and Sans stopped him. “ This might be  _ hawk _ ward but you gotta give the kid some space. ”

Ara shook his head and clawed at the ground. “ They are a human in the Underground. They...I don’t trust them but...I don’t know anymore. ”

Sans nodded. “ We’ll I’d be  _ lion _ if I said I understood. But I wasn’t around for the war. Know a few people that were, but no one really talks about it. The kids good though, they just want to help everyone. ”

Ara chuckled slightly and shook his head. “ _ Tibia _ honest,  I actually believe you. I haven’t seen them do anything yet. ” he shook his head. “ Come on, we should  _ ketch _ -up with the kid. ” he headed through the door.

Sans narrowed his eyes slightly before he followed him.

Frisk smiled at both of them and held up two Nice Creams. “I wanted to hold yours so I wouldn’t drop one.”

Sans grabbed his. “ Thanks Kid. ” he opened the package and smiled at the little compliment.

Ara wrapped his tail around his and looked at it, debating on how he was going to eat it. Frisk blushed. “Oh Ara I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Do you need me to open it for you?”

He shook his head and one of his paws came up, gently unwrapping the Nice Cream. He looked at the wrapping and his head tilted before he ate his Nice Cream out of his tail.

Frisk ate hers and ordered another one for the road. She saw Ara’s wrapper turn green for a moment before it disappeared. She grinned. “Ready to go?”

Ara glanced at Sans before he nodded. He lowered himself and Frisk climbed onto his back. “ Call if you need us. ”

Sans nodded. “ Right back at’cha. ”

Ara headed out, Frisk had him go down so she could get the ballet shoes. And she listened to Papyrus tell her about Undyne’s murderous intentions. Then she told him which path to take to get to Onionsans. 

Ara was confused by them, but Frisk noticed he sat and spoke for some time. He talked about how the city wasn’t as beautiful as where they were, and how if they needed help moving to a larger body of water he would help once he was done helping Frisk.

Frisk almost had to drag him out of the room with a laugh and a promise to help as well. She was always happy when Onionsans got to leave. 

Frisk dragged Ara past the next room and past the statue. She grabbed an umbrella and dragged him back to the statue. She sat down and listened. “I love this song.”

Ara sat next to her. “ It feels...sad. Is there anything important about it? ” he tilted his head as he looked at the statue.

“It used to be Asriel’s memorial statue.” Ara froze when Frisk spoke. “I think this is his song.” she smiled. “I’m sure he would like it.”

Ara narrowed his eyes. “ What do you know of the Prince? ”

Frisk smiled and stood. “We should keep going. Monster Kid is down the next hall, so I’m going to walk. Will you be needing an umbrella?”

He slid her back onto his back. “ I shall carry both of you. It is no trouble, and you can keep all of us dry with the umbrella. ”

Frisk grabbed an umbrella as they went past. Monster Kid smiled. “Hey, you got an umbrella.” he yelped when Ara grabbed him with his tail and placed him on his back. “Whoa, this is so cool.”

Ara hummed and Frisk started talking with Monster Kid about Undyne. They made it to the ledge and Monster Kid slid off. “I’m going to find another way around. You guys tell Undyne to wait for me if you see her.” he ran off, falling and picking himself back up.

Frisk giggled when Ara climbed up the ledge. He stretched while she saved. “ I never thought it would take this long to reach the castle. I always lived close enough that it didn’t bother me. ”

She giggled and climbed back onto his back. “Undyne attacks again here.” he rolled his eyes and mumbled about how weak her attacks were. “Were you hit by one?”

He glanced up. “ Of course not. ” he stepped onto the bridge.

Undyne attacked, her magic spears coming out of the ground. Frisk heard him laughing, and his eyes glowed green as he leapt through them, skidding to a stop when one would appear in front of him. He ran and leapt over one of them, causing the spears to increase their speed.

Frisk held on tight when they reached the end of the bridge. Ara huffed and turned, growling as Undyne walked over. Undyne stopped, and destroyed the bridge with her spear.

Frisk shouted as she fell from Ara’s back.

She heard Asriel finding Chara and telling her his name, before she sat up in the dump. “Ara?” she called out.

But nobody came.

She pulled out her phone and called Sans. Papyrus answered. “ HELLO HUMAN! YOU HAVE REACHED I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS. HOW CAN I HELP YOU? ”

Frisk felt a little bad because she hadn’t gotten to know him very well in this timeline. “Hey Papyrus. I was wondering if Sans was around. I got separated from my friend and I’m worried about him.”

She heard Papyrus humm through the phone. “ WELL...ACTUALLY HE IS SLEEPING RIGHT NOW. HE’S BEEN DOING ALL THIS MATH LATELY, AND HE's BEEN IN THE SHED A LOT. HE DIDN'T EVEN SLEEP LAST NIGHT. I DON'T WANT TO WAKE HIM UNLESS I HAVE TO. ”

Frisk smiled. “I understand. When he wakes up can you tell him to call me?”

She could almost see Papyrus grinning. “ OF COURSE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SHALL INFORM MY BROTHER OF YOUR CALL. ” he hung up.

Frisk took a deep breath and headed off to go fight Mad Dummy. She figured she would hang out with Napstablook for a while, waiting for Ara. If he didn’t show up soon though she was going to continue without him. He knew where she was going, he could catch up.

She layed with Napstablook until she was dizzy. He seemed...happy that she’d stayed for so long. She needed to go though, she didn’t like staying in one place for too long.

Frisk headed to Gerson’s shop. She bought a sea tea and hesitated. “Gerson...can I ask you a question?”

He chuckled. “Sure kid. What do you want to know?”

Frisk hesitated. “Were you in the war? Between humans and monsters?”

Gerson was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath. “Ah...that’s quite the question. The short answer is yes. Yes I was. Why did you want to know a thing like that?”

Frisk bit her lip. “I met someone, who said he was in the war. His name is...Ara.”

Gerson looked shocked. “Ara...now  _ that’s _ a name I haven’t heard in awhile. To be honest I thought he was dead. He went through quite a bit after the war, trying to come to terms with what he’d done. He was one of Asgore’s top guards, and he became Captain of the Royal Guard after the war and we were locked down here.”

Frisk’s eyes widened. Wow… “Why isn’t he anymore?”

Gerson hummed. “After a few years, the Royal Scientist...I forget his name, he came and they became close friends. Ara left to go work with him. Then the Prince and Princess died and Ara cut off all contact with the outside world.”

Frisk nodded. “Thank you. I think I’m going to go find him now. We were separated.”

Gerson smiled. “Give him a hello from me.” he waved as she left.

Frisk continued on her way, lighting up the paths with the strange glowing mushrooms. She stared at the way to Temmie village before she shivered and continued onto the darkening lantern room. The Temmie really freaked her out.

She made her way through the dark, until she reached the echo flower. She always wondered who made it said Behind You. She secretly hoped that it was Undyne, and that she did it just so she could make a cool entrance.

She always laughed when Monster Kid was dragged off. They really should be at home, and not chasing after Undyne.

The bridge always kind of messed her up, because Monster Kid was so innocent. And just because Frisk was human it technically put them on opposite sides. She never hesitated to save them though. Not even with Undyne getting closer. Besides, Undynes battle was close anyway.

She sat by her SAVE for a moment. She didn’t want to fight Undyne. She didn’t want to have to run from her.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She hoped Ara was alright.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start glitching

Ara groaned as he woke up. There was a creature that looked that that monster child...only they were gray, and he felt a chill go through him as they stared at him. “Ara you have come back. Why did you come back?”

Ara sat up. “ I do not know you. Who are you? ”

The creature moved away slightly, though...it didn’t look like they were moving. “Dr.  Gaster .  Sent by  Dr.  Gaster.”

Ara stared at them in shock. “ Dr. Gaster is dead. He died years ago. I heard of it… ” he had been there. He had shielded Dr. Gaster’s children when the lab exploded. 

The creature wasn’t blinking. “Lost.  He  was  lost.  He watches .  He watches you  leave  his children .”

Ara flinched back. “ I couldn’t...I couldn’t...I was not a parent. I could barely care for myself. Sans and Papyrus are better off without- ”

The world seemed to glitch for a moment and the creature was gone. He looked around and stood. He knew this feeling. The world glitched again and the creature was back.

“Sans... Papyrus... the child . The child  is dying and dying and dying.” the world glitched again and it disappeared.

Ara jumped up and ran out of the cave that he was inside. He was near the dump. He ran. He had to get to Frisk. The world glitched around him again and he stumbled. He wasn’t used to running while the world glitched. 

He froze when he reached the fight. Frisk was holding a spear, her soul green. She was using the spear to block Undynes attacks. 

Frisk was hit and she cried out. Ara ran into the battle and grabbed the spear Undyne threw in his teeth. He snapped it in half and growled, curling his tail around Frisk.

Undyne froze and the world flickered before the fight ended. Frisk dropped to her knees, breathing deeply, a hand on her chest.

Undyne was staring at Ara. “Are you protecting that human?”

Ara stood and growled. “ I am protecting a  _ child _ . ”

Undyne threw down her spear. “It’s a  _ human _ ! It doesn’t matter how old they are! They’re  **_human_ ** !”

Ara kept his tail curled around Frisk. “ If you want the human, you’ll have to go through me. ” his eye glowed green.

Undyne scowled. “Fine.” the world flickered and the battle started.

Ara pushed Frisk out of the battle and she stared in shock. She’d never seen two monsters battle before. 

Ara was ducking and running, grabbing the spears that got to close with his tail. He stumbled when his soul went green and a wave of fire shot towards Undyne. She quickly scrambled back, avoiding the flames.

Frisk’s phone rang. “H-hello?”

“ Kid what’s going on? Things are off the chart here. ” Sans.

Frisk bit her lip. “Ara and Undyne are fighting. I…” she looked at the fight, about to say how close it was, when she noticed….it  _ wasn’t _ close. “Ara is winning.” his HP hadn’t even gone down.

“ You need to stop them. Or reset. Or something. I knew he shouldn’t have followed you around. Just...get him back here. ” he hung up.

Frisk put away her cell phone and took a deep breath. She watched Ara for a moment before she was filled with Determination and ran into the battle.

She ducked under a wave of bones Ara had sent towards Undyne and jumped onto his back. “Don’t ask questions. Just run for Hotland.”

Ara hesitated, though ran and leapt over Undyne. The battle ended and he ran, at Frisks request he stayed slow enough that Undyne could follow them. This time, when Papyrus called, she didn’t have to stop to talk to him.

Sans was still sleeping at his hotdog stand, which caused Ara to stumble slightly when he noticed him. But she nudged him over the bridge.

Undyne dropped from the heat and Frisk slid from Ara’s back. He had to skid to a stop. Frisk quickly went and got the water for Undyne and gave it to her.

Ara watched her leave. “ I could have won without hurting her. ”

Frisk looked back at him. “I know. But Sans wanted us. Come on.” she started for the boat.

“ But Sans was just… ” he looked towards where the hotdog stand was.

Frisk giggled. “Come on. We’ll take the Ferry.” she led him to the Ferry and climbed on.

Ara sat hesitantly on the boat. The River Person started humming when Frisk asked to be taken to Snowdin. “It’s been awhile since you’ve taken my boat ride Ara.” they spoke suddenly.

Ara lowered his head. “ I have had no reason to travel since my last trip. ”

The River Person seemed to except that answer and went back to humming. Frisk looked at him. “Did you come to Hotland often?”

He chuckled. “ I lived in Hotland for a time. ”

The boat stopped in Snowdin and Ara climbed off. Frisk waved goodbye as they started down the path. Ara stopped and stared at Grillby’s.

“Are you hungry? I’m sure Sans wouldn’t mind if we stopped in for something if we brought him some.” Frisk smiled.

Ara shook his head quickly and started walking towards Sans and Papyrus’s home. Frisk quickly chased after him.

Sans was waiting outside, shifting nervously. Ara froze when he saw Sans wearing a stained labcoat. Frisk squealed. “Sans, I didn’t know you had one of those. Where did you get it?”

Sans gave a shaky smile. “ I used to work in the Lab with the old royal scientist before Dr. Alphy’s. But that’s story for another time. I need to speak with Ara. ”

Ara huffed and sat down. “ If this is about my fight with Undyne, I couldn’t just watch as she killed Frisk. And she would not listen to reason. ”

Frisk felt fear curl inside of her as San’s felt eye glowed slightly blue. “ You could have been hurt. Undyne could have been hurt. ”

Ara rolled his eyes. “ I could have taken her without damage to either of us. Just look at my HP, nothing. ”

Sans glared at him. “ Frisk go inside."

Frisk shook her head. “Please...please don’t fight. We all want the same thing. Monsters free and everyone happy. Please don’t fight.”

Sans sighed and the blue glow disappeared. “ You’re right kid. Sorry. I didn’t call you here to fight. I think I figured out how to get my friend. But...we’d have to reset. ”

Frisk took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Ara looked at her. “ You have to die though… ”

Frisk smiled. “That’s alright. I’ll just go back to the Undyne fight.” she didn’t like dying, but she wanted to help.

Ara stood. “ I’ll do it. ” he mumbled something and shook his head. “ Also, I shall be staying here to help Sans. Shall we go through the next timeline as normal? ”

Sans nodded. “ Just until the Kid reached Snowdin. We’ll work it out from there. ”

The world flickered and Frisk was facing Ara in battle. She took a deep breath and noticed Ara’s hesitation. 

*Act

*You tell Ara everything will be alright

Ara huffed and attacked, though his bones avoided her. He looked frusterated that his attack betrayed him.

*Act

*You remind Ara that he doesn’t have to do thi-

His tail darted around and stabbed straight through her soul, shattering it.

Continue   Reset

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…

…

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…

…

Reset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a few chapters on my computer, I swear. However I do not have internet and don't have access to it often. So posting will be sporadic and and probably in big chunks. Thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Ara talk a lot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://feclen.tumblr.com/image/147533062074 
> 
> I drew a picture of Ara. :)

Frisk wondered, as she walked through the ruins, how Ara was able to attack when it was her turn. None of the other monsters could do that. Well...the amalgamates could, but they kind of gooped all over.

She was sitting with Toriel when it popped into her head again. “Mom?”

Toriel looked down at her. “Yes my child?” she smiled.

“Can a monster attack me while it’s my turn?” she hadn’t seen anything on battles in the books Toriel had.

Toriel looked troubled. “Very...rarely. It is either one of two things. A monster with very strong magic, or a monster with a high...LOVE.” she shivered as she said this.

This was the first time Toriel had brought up LOVE. Frisk smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” she went back to coloring.

So that meant Ara was either very powerful, or he has a high LOVE. It was probably the magic thing. She didn’t know any monsters with LOVE. Well...aside from Flowey. But she didn’t count him. Because his came and went.

_ Just like hers would _

The thought startled her so bad she messed up her drawing. She frowned. She didn’t want LOVE. She didn’t want to hurt anyone.

He phone rang in the middle of the night and she groaned before she answered it. “Hello?”

“ Heya Kid, sorry if I woke you. Ara and I have been working. We think that if we do this, this will be our final chance. Once you complete this timeline, if you reset again, bad things will happen. Bad things are already starting. ” Sans sounded tired.

Frisk nodded. “Okay. But what about my friend?”

She could almost hear his smile. “ If this guy can’t save him, no one can. See you soon kid. ” he hung up.

Frisk yawned and curled back up under her blanket. She was still tired, and even though she didn’t know what time it was, she felt it  _ had _ to be early.

She woke up to the smell of Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie and smiled. She  _ loved _ Toriel’s pie. If she stayed for longer than a day she always was given a second slice. The second was even better than the first.

Sans called her again and said that he wanted her run to go as smooth as possible, so until she reached Snowdin everything would be like every other reset. She didn’t like that she wouldn’t get to see Ara until Snowdin. She had a feeling he was upset over killing her.

She rushed through her fight with Toriel. She ran to the bridge, giggling when Sans winked at her after she shook his hand. She nearly fell over when she hid behind the conveniently shaped lamp, she was laughing so hard. She acted like the puzzles were still hard for her, her first through runs the puzzles had taken her forever. And she finally reached the bridge.

Sans was waiting for her on the other side. “ Heya kid. Glad you’re alright. Might want to go see Ara. He’s only talked to Papyrus since you reset. ”

Frisk nodded. “Alright. Then we’ll get your friend?”

Sans nodded. “ Yeah, and then we’ll save yours. ” he grabbed her hand and they walked back across the bridge.

Frisk blinked when they were suddenly in his house. Ara was curled up on the couch, watching Mettaton’s show.

Frisk walked over to him and sat next to him. “I love this episode.” she smiled. 

Ara glanced at her. “ I...Papyrus looked like he was going to faint when I told him that I had never seen one of Mettaton’s shows. ”

Frisk giggled. They sat and watched the show for a moment before she looked at him. “Do you know the person Sans is trying to get?”

Ara nodded. “ I told you, remember? I worked for Dr. Gaster. He helped me. I...I was very...angry before I met him. I wasn’t able to connect with other monsters, and I had driven my only friend away. I was even at odds with the King. But...WingDings helped me. ” he looked at her and nudged her slightly with his muzzle. “ Even if I do not know who your friend is, I hope we can help them. ”

Frisk smiled. “Thank you for helping me.” she shifted her weight. “Do you know a little talking flower? A golden flower?”

The spot where his eyes should have been went dark. “ Flowey. ”

Frisk flinched, so they did know him. “He’s the one that I’m trying to save.”

Ara stared at her for a moment before he looked away. “ With how many times you’ve been through the timeline. I’m sure you know how dangerous he is. While I disagree with you, I have no reason to mistrust you. For now, I shall put my faith in you. ”

Frisk smiled. “Thank you.”

They jumped as a loud explosion came from outside. Ara jumped up and headed for the door. “ Don’t move! ” he ran through the door.

Frisk shook her head. She jumped off the couch and chased after him. His tracks led her around to the back of the house. The shed door was open, blown off its handles.

Papyrus was rubbing Sans back, the smaller skeleton was coughing, his lab coat had new scorch marks. Ara rushed over to them. “ What happened? Are you alright? ”

Sans nodded. “ I’m fine. Sorry. Must have done some math wrong. ” his eyes widened. “ My papers! ”

Ara turned and quickly ran into the shed. Papyrus looked worried. “ Sans...what happened? ”

Sans was shaking slightly. “ My math just didn’t  _ add _ up. ”

Papyrus groaned. “ That one was bad, even for you. ”

Frisk hesitantly walked over. “What does this mean?”

Sans sighed. “It means we need a bigger power source.”

Ara slipped out, walking backwards, he had a box in his teeth and was dragging it. His skull was covered in black soot. “ I think I got everything. ”

Sans stood and grabbed the box. He started going through it, mumbling to himself. Papyrus looked worried, shifting his weight. “ SANS...YOU’VE BEEN HURT. WHY DON’T YOU TAKE A BREAK? ”

Sans shook his head. “ No can do bro. This is our last chance. If the kid resets again...I don’t think the world can take it. ”

Ara put his paw in the box and slid it over to him. “ You said yourself that you do not have the power to do this here. We shall have to go back to Gaster’s lab then. I am sure if you explained what was happening to Dr. Alphys… ”

Sans shook his head. “ We can’t. Not before she meets the kid. We’ve derailed things so much...I don’t know if we’d be able to get out if we messed things up anymore. ”

Ara sighed. “ Then you do more math, and we work on moving everything to the Lab. The human will continue down this path, following the rules, until we have everything set up. They shall go for the best ending. ”

Frisk shifted her weight. “But what if it doesn’t work?”

Papyrus grinned. “ HAVE FAITH HUMAN! FOR MY BROTHER...AND HIS NEW FRIEND ARA...WILL FIND THE SOLUTION! ”

Ara looked at him. “ I am your friend as well Papyrus. And I am sorry that I have not had the time I wish to spend with you. ”

Papyrus’s cheeks turned orange when he blushed. “ WE ARE FRIENDS? ”

Ara smiled. “ Of course. I enjoy your puzzles. They are very well thought out and complex enough to keep the mind engaged. ”

Sans looked at Frisk. “ I know I said this was our last chance kid, but...I don’t think we can do this on our own. And I don’t know anyone smarter than the Doc. ”

Frisk took a deep breath. “I’ll go through like I normally do. And...maybe...I can go through Alphy’s lab. And after...I just won’t go fight Asgor until you’re done?”

Sans nodded. “ That’ll have to work. I’ll work on the math until that happens. ”

Ara glanced at Frisk before he sighed and lowered his head. “ I wish you luck young human. Our fate rests on you. ”

Frisk had heard that so many times it didn’t make her feel any better. She shifted her weight. “I’ll do my best. I just want to help Asriel.”

Ara froze. He turned quickly and Frisk flinched when his eyes glowed a bright green. “ _ What _ did you just say? ”

Frisk felt herself go cold, and when she looked down her soul was blue. She was pulled back behind Sans. “ Flowey is Prince Asriel. I don’t have all the details yet, the Kid could tell you more. ”

Ara’s tail whipped around and Sans jumped back, dodging. Papyrus quickly made a bone cage around Ara. “ I MUST INSIST THAT YOU BE MORE CAREFUL WITH YOUR TAIL. MY BROTHER’S STATS ARE NOT VERY HIGH AND I DO NOT THINK YOU WANT TO HURT HIM. ”

Ara sat down. “ I might. ”

Frisk glared at him. “Why are you being so mean?”

He glared at her. “ I don’t have to explain myself to you human. ” he stood. “ I’d wish to luck, but you’ll just change things to go your way. ” he turned and headed off, disappearing around the corner.

Sans sighed. “ Don’t sweat it kid. He’s just shocked to hear about the prince. From everything that he’s said, he probably knew him. ”

Frisk sighed. “I hope he’s okay.” she looked at Sans. “What do you need?” she wanted to go after him, but wasn’t sure how he’d react.

Papyrus had disappeared.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of people talk with varied results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this chapter took this long. I lost ALL motivation to write and have just recently got it back. I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter

Papyrus had followed Ara. He was worried about him, and something told him that Ara would never really hurt either of them. He seemed to protective over the two of them. Making sure they both ate, putting blankets over Sans when he found him sleeping.

Those were not things one would do if they planned on hurting someone. Papyrus figured he was just upset about something. And that once he’d calmed down, and talked to someone, he would be be back to himself.

So Papyrus was going to be that person. He followed Ara’s paw prints through the snow, noting the way his tail had swerved behind him, destroying most of the prints.

Ara had left Snowdin. He was headed for Waterfall. Papyrus turned and glanced behind him before he continued on. He should have told Sans where he was going, but his brother might try and talk him out of it.

Ara’s prints disappeared shortly into Waterfall, but Papyrus kept going. He had a feeling he  knew where Ara was. 

He found him in the wishing room. Ara was sitting in a corner, staring at the ‘stars’. He didn’t look as Papyrus walked over. “ Did you know that I’ve seen real stars? ” he whispered suddenly.

Papyrus shook his head. “ NO. I DID NOT. ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM THESE? ”

Ara nodded. “ Very different. On the surface, the stars are different every night. They move through the night sky. Some of them are different colors, and some can only be seen in the pitch black of night their shine so dim. ” he sighed and shook his head. “ I am sorry I became upset. ”

Papyrus shook his head. “ SOMETHING MUST HAVE UPSET YOU GREATLY IN ORDER FOR YOU TO ACT THE WAY YOU DID. IF YOU WISH...I AM HERE FOR YOU. ” 

Ara nudged him and his ears went back. “ Thank you. ” he was silent for a moment. “ I knew Asriel. I...yes I had left working for the King, however I would still go see him. We would talk and I played with his children. But then...Asriel and Chara died...and the King declared war on the humans. I wouldn’t go through another war. I stopped talking to everyone aside from very few friends after that. ”

Papyrus was silent. Watching him. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “ IF YOU DO NOT MIND ME ASKING. WHERE ARE YOUR FRIENDS NOW? ”

Ara looked at him. “ One of them died. The other and I were in a fight. He...he told me he does not wish to see me anymore. I was cruel to him, and our fight became violent. He was only trying to help me. ”

Papyrus thought for a moment. “ I AM VERY SORRY FOR THE LOSS OF YOUR FRIEND. THOUGH I AM SURE IF YOU WENT AND EXPLAINED TO THE OTHER ONE HOW SORRY YOU WERE AND HOW MUCH YOU MISSED HIM, HE WOULD FORGIVE YOU. ”

Ara looked away. “ I haven’t even forgiven myself. I doubt that he could forgive me. ”

Papyrus sighed. “ YOU REMIND ME OF SANS SOMETIMES. HE TRIES TO TAKE THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON HIS SHOULDERS. BUT THAT’S WHY PEOPLE HAVE FRIENDS. SO THEY DON’T HAVE TO BE ALONE. ”

Ara smiled. “ Thank you Papyrus. You are a greater friend that I ever could have hoped for. ” he looked back up at the stars. “ I shall think on what you said. There is a great many things going on right now, and I do not want to be distracted. ”

Papyrus felt slightly like he was being dismissed. He had a feeling that while Ara would think about what he had said, he wouldn’t act on it. He would have to ask Sans for help. And the human. They would know what to do.

He nodded. “ Well then. Now that that is settled. We should be getting back to the others. I am sure the human is worried about you. ”

Ara hummed before he nodded and stood. His tail hesitantly wrapped around Papyrus’s arm and he pulled him forward slightly as he walked.

Frisk paced outside of Sans house. Sans was sitting on the step, watching them go back and forth. “ You should really  _ chill _ kid. Paps can be a real  _ Mom _ ster. ”

Frisk narrowed her eyes slightly before she sighed. “I’m just worried. Both him and Ara just ran off. And Ara was really upset.”

San sighed. “ Kid… ” he shook his head. “ Papyrus can handle himself, you’ve fought him before. Besides, I don’t think Ara would hurt him. ”

Frisk nodded. She was sure that Ara wouldn’t hurt Papyrus either, but...he had hurt her when they first met, because he deemed it necessary. She just hoped they didn’t start fighting. Things already seemed like they were going wrong, she didn’t want anything else to happen.

Frisk sighed and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t want to go through this anymore. Her Determination could only take her so far. She wasn’t sure if she could make it another run. She was so close, but it all felt so far. 

San’s eye sockets widened slightly when Frisk started to cry. “ Whoa kid. Kid what’s wrong? Do you want me to go check on them? ”

Frisk shook her head. “I’m  _ tired _ .”

Sans shifted uncomfortably. “ Not to make it worse kid, but we kind of need your Determination here. ”

That just made Frisk cry harder. She sat down and rubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears. “ SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO? WHY IS THE HUMAN CRYING? ” Papyrus walked over to Frisk and knelt in front of her. “ HUMAN, DO NOT CRY. THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE. ”

Ara sat next to Sans as Papyrus tried to comfort the human. He tilted his head and watched as Frisk just sat and cried. He sighed after a moment and stood, shaking himself he walked over to the human child. “ If you do not wish to continue you do not have to. ” Frisk stared at him. “ While yes, the surface was nice when I was younger, down here can be nice as well. We could speak to the King, convince him not to kill you, and just...live. A burden this great should not be placed on a child. ”

Frisk stopped crying. No one had told her that before. She’d been told she should stop, or that she should do things a certain way. But he said it like it was her choice. Like she could stop at any time and just let the timeline continue forward.

But was that really an option? She could go back to Toriel, visit Sans and Papyrus. Maybe Asgor could be convinced to leave her alone. But...they were so close to being free. They only needed one more soul. 

Ara jumped as Frisk’s chest turned red and her soul spilled out. She held it in her hands for a moment, the bright crimson red reflecting off the snow. “Would giving up be an option?” she whispered.

Ara could see Sans and Papyrus shaking their heads, but he ignored them. “ That’s what I did. Life became too much for me and I just...gave up. I hid myself away from my family and friends. From all my responsibilities. Of course, if you gave up you would die. Are you ready to die? ”

Frisk stared at her soul. “I just don’t want him to be alone in the dark anymore.” 

Ara nodded. “ Then you focus on him. And forget everyone else. You choose a reason to go on, and think of it every time things become too much. ”

Frisk looked at him, her soul slowly went back inside of her chest. “What’s your reason?”

Ara shook his head. “ I do not have one at the moment. Though it is quickly becoming helping you, against my better judgement. ” he shrugged.

Frisk smiled slightly and launched herself at him. He froze as she hugged him. “Thank you.” she stood and wiped off her knees. “I think I’m ready to continue now.”

Sans nodded. “ See you in Waterfall then Kid. Just...get past the True Lab, then we’ll stop. You think you can do that? ”

Frisk nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m Determined.” she grinned. “And I’ll call you guys, I promise.” she skipped off.

Papyrus looked at Ara. “ THAT WAS VERY KIND OF YOU TO HELP THE HUMAN. ”

Ara smiled and shook his head. “ This isn’t the first time I’ve given up and had to start over. Someone very close to me gave me the push I needed, and I was just passing it forward. ”

Frisk skipped through Waterfall, staring at the History of Monsters on the wall. She made friends with everyone, talked to Gerson over tea, and saved Monster Kid from falling off the bridge.

She hesitated at the Undyne fight. She could see Undyne waiting for her. She took a deep breath and trudged forward. 

Ara was waiting for her after the fifth death. “ Does it ever get easier, dying ?”

She nodded. “It doesn’t hurt as much as it used to. I think I’m more numb to it now.” she shrugged. “Shouldn’t you be helping Sans?”

He nodded. “ I am. He asked me to check on you when we felt how much you were dying. Are you sure you can go through  _ all _ of this all over again? You’ll need to get Alphys to be your friend for this to work. ”

Frisk nodded. “My favorite part of all this is the dates. I love my date with Papyrus, and the date with Alphys is great. It gets Undyne and her together.” she giggled. “I should get back to this.” she pet him before she skipped back to the battle.

She beat Undyne this time, and continued through Hotland. She went through Alphy’s lab, made her way through all the puzzles, told Alphys she was doing a great job, and finally got to Mettaton. 

She quickly beat him and continued on to the castle. She stopped when she saw Ara sitting outside of Asgore’s home. “What are you doing here?”

He shook his head and was silent.

Frisk hesitantly went through the house, listening to the story, she realized Ara was behind her. He had his head bowed.

She reached the door to the throne room and went down to the coffins. Her and Ara sat in silence for a moment before she headed back up. Ara stopped her from going in. “ Sans told me I could speak to the King first. To see if I could get him to spare you, He says if it doesn’t work that you’ll have to go back to your last SAVE .”

Frisk smiled. “I’m sure he’ll listen to you.” she followed him into the room.

Asgore was watering his flowers. Ara cleared his throat. “ My King ?”

Asgore hummed. “Hold on a moment. I’m almost done.” he sounded so happy. He set down the watering can and turned. “Now, can I offer you a cup of…” he trailed off. “Ara?” his eyes were wide.

Ara bowed. “ My King I wish to speak with you about something .”

Asgore noticed Frisk. “Ara...is that a human child?”

Ara nodded. “ This is what I wished to speak to you about. You see, the child fell down and...she has not hurt anyone sir. We all have come to care for her, and wished to ask if she could stay with us. Down here .”

Asgore narrowed his eyes. “We are at war Ara.”

Ara lowered his eyes. “ We don’t have to be. I...I know what happened to Asriel and Chara ,” Asgore flinched, “ but we don’t have to be like them. We don’t have to be like the humans. We can stop all this. We can be happy .”

Asgore narrowed his eyes. “You never thought like that before. You were right by my side during the war. And now you’re by theirs.”

Ara shook his head. “ Asgore...My King...the war...that was different. We were being  _ slaughtered _ . They killed my father. But this...you’re killing  _ children _ . What would Asriel th -”

Asgore throw out his hand and Ara ducked when Fire flew at him. “ _ Do not speak his name like you knew him _ !  _ He was  _ **_my_ ** _ son! _ ” the world flickered and they were thrown into a battle.

Frisk squealed and ducked away from the battle. Ara was dodging all of Asgore’s attacks, refusing to send back any of his own. He kept asking Asgore if this was worth it, if all the death was worth all of this pain.

Frisk gasped when Ara was struck with Asgore’s weapon and he flew into a wall. Ara stood, shaking slightly, and stared at Asgore in shock. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and fire surrounded him, he started fighting back.

Frisk couldn’t watch this. She was terrified. What if one of them got seriously hurt? What if something happened or went wrong? Frisk gathered her Determination and ran into the battle.

Ara had thrown fire at Asgore’s weapon, Frisk ran right between them. He stumbled to a stop and tried to cancel his attack, but she was struck to quickly. The blow sent her flying into Asgore’s weapon, where she was impaled.

Ara screamed. “ FRISK !” he ran over to her, Asgore had dropped his weapon in shock. Ara dropped next to her. “ Frisk! Frisk it’s alright. You’re going to be alright. Deep breaths for me. I can heal you. I promise I can heal you. ” his eyes were burning bright green.

Frisk shook her head. “It’s….it’s okay Ara. I’ll see you in a minute.”

Ara shook his head. “ No, no Frisk no. Please Frisk -” the world glitched.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out if the machine works

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stayed up much to late writing this chapter

Frisk very rarely hesitated in the LOADING screen. Everything would go black, and she’d suddenly be back at her last SAVE. But this time, she stayed in that blackness, the blackness that had Asgore’s voice telling her not to give up.

She was curled around her soul, the bright red the only color in the world around her. She was so  _ tired _ . But now she had no other option but to continue. Asgore couldn’t be persuaded to let her live. It made her question everything he did.

But she couldn’t think like that. Asgore was kind, and he could be convinced, he just couldn’t be angry. He wasn’t thinking when he was angry.

She closed her eyes and felt her soul go back inside of her. When she opened her eyes she was standing outside of the Throne room, Ara next to her. He was shaking and crying. “See? I’m here, alright.” she smiled.

Ara tackled her. He curled around her and Frisk felt like she was being suffocated. “ _ Never _ get in the way of my battles again.  _ Never _ . I don’t  _ ever _ want to see that again .”

She hugged him. “I don’t want to see you fighting again. You were hurt.”

He stood and helped her up. “ Trust me when I say I’ve been through much worse .” he looked at the door to the Throne room. “ I thought...I thought that because we were friends he would listen to me. I thought I could give you time. ”

Frisk nudged him. “You did your best.” she hugged him quickly before she went into the Throne room.

Frisk made it through the Asgore fight on her first try, and died over and over while fighting Omega Flowey. She always died while fighting him. This time, after she beat him, she sat next to him. “Aren’t you tired of fighting?” she asked suddenly.

She knew Flowey didn’t remember all the Resets she did, after every True Reset, even he forgot. He glared at her. “Are you going to  _ mock _ me?”

She shook her head and chose MERCY. “We could be friends? And everyone could be happy. Even you.”

He hissed. “I  _ am _ happy.”

She sighed and hit MERCY again. She did this over and over until Flowey ran away. Then she stepped through the Barrier and reloaded her SAVE.

Ara was still sitting by the SAVE point. Frisk held up her hand and smiled when she received the phone call. She looked at Ara. “Want to give me a ride to Snowdin?”

He let her slip on his back and started walking. He took the long way, walking back through the Core, and Hotland, and even Waterfall. He was mostly silent, only mumbling a few things to people as they passed. 

Undyne was outside of Papyrus and Sans house with Papyrus. Frisk smiled. “Hey Undyne.”

Undyne smiled. “Hey twerp! Who’s the friend?”

Ara sat down, and Frisk laughed when she slid off. “ My name is Ara, I am a retired member of the Royal Guard. ”

Papyrus gasped. “ REALLY? WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING BEFORE? WE COULD HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW COOL THE ROYAL GUARD IS. ”

Ara smiled and shook his head. “ It slips my mind more often than it should. I did not mean to deceive you. ”

Frisk rolled her eyes and motioned to Undyne. Undyne turned slightly red. “Ah Frisk, do you think you could deliver this letter to Alphys for me?”

Frisk grinned. “What’s it about?”

She turned redder. “None of your business you little punk!” she crossed her arms. “Could you just deliver it for me?”

Frisk put her hands behind her back and swung back and forth. “Why don’t you do it?” she loved embarrassing Undyne.

Undyne looked away. “It’s just better if you do it.”

Papyrus smiled. “ WHAT SHE MEANS IS THAT SHE’LL NEVER DELIVER IT IF SHE TRIES. ”

Undyne grabbed him in a headlock. “It has to be perfect, alright punk!”

Frisk giggled. She took the letter and looked at Ara. “Could you stay here? It would be better if I did this on my own.”

He hesitated before he nodded. “ I’ll go see if Sans needs my help with anything .” he turned and walked off.

Frisk went off to her date with Alphy’s, hopeful that this was the  _ last _ time. She told Alphy’s to admit her feelings, pretended to be Undyne and told Alphys that Undyne wanted to kiss her. She giggled when Undyne caught them, and Papyrus make Alphys run a hundred laps in a trash can. She even decided to tell Undyne that Anime wasn’t real.

She found her way down to the True Lab, made...friends? With the amalgamates, and watched the Tapes. She was always curious  _ why _ Alphys didn’t at least give some of the tapes back to King Asgore. He would probably like to have the first one.

She found Alphys after restoring power, and they talked about telling the truth. Frisk had the creepy phone call in the elevator. She always thought it was Flowey, but didn’t have much proof either way.

She found Sans, Ara, and Papyrus waiting in Alphy’s lab. Alphys was watching them nervously. “W-what are y-you guys do-doing here?”

Sans had his box of papers and there was a giant machine behind him in a wagon. He was wearing his lab coat. “ Sorry, but we need to use the lab .”

Alphys looked nervous. “O-oh. We-well I gu-guess tha-that would be okay. Wh-what do yo-you need it f-for?”

Sans grinned. “ Trying to bring WingDings back .”

Alphys looked confused. “W-who?”

Ara rolled his eyes. “ You’ll remember soon enough. Come young human. You shall be staying in the lab until we can finish this. ” he headed for the elevator.

Alphys squealed. “Wh-who are y-you?”

Ara glanced at her. “ That...that is a difficult question to answer .”

Papyrus grabbed Sans box of papers and headed for the elevator as well. He waved and thanked Alphys and he got into the Elevator with Frisk and Ara. He kept thanking her as the door closed.

Sans looked at Alphys. “ Thanks Alphys. I’ll owe you one after this. ”

Alphys shifted her weight nervously. “I...w-will y-you n-ne-need help or can I g-go? I have s-something I n-need to d-do.”

Sans shoved his hands in his lab coat. “ You’re free to go. Thanks again. ” the elevator came back up and Sans headed over to it.

Alphys watched him go. “I should c-call Un-Undyne.” she mumbled to herself and headed off with the amalgamates.

Sans found Ara and Papyrus in an empty room, hooking up the machine. Frisk was sitting on the ground, watching them. She smiled at Sans. 

Ara was moving quickly around the room, grumbling, Sans could see green magic hands following him, grabbing things or moving things around. “ Where did you learn that? ”

Ara paused and glanced back at him. “ I’ve always been able to do it. I don’t exactly have hands. ”

Sans cheeks turned slightly blue and Papyrus suddenly held out the box of papers. “ WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THESE BROTHER? ”

Sans glanced around. “ Can you set them over there bro? And this is going to be kind of boring for a bit, how about you and the kid go for a walk? ”

Papyrus set the box down where Sans had pointed and walked over to Frisk. “ COME HUMAN! YOU AND I SHALL WALK AROUND THIS WONDERFUL FACILITY AND SEE WHAT WE CAN FIND. WHILE MY BROTHER AND ARA DO SCIENCE! ” he grabbed Frisks hand and started off. “ Nyeh heh heh! ”

The closer Sans and Ara came to finishing their work on the machine, the more nervous Ara seemed to become. He sat near the door, his tail moving back and forth quickly. He would glance down the hall every few minutes.

Sans stopped working, he was almost done. “ Hey, I’m almost done. Why don’t you go find Paps and the kid? ” he figured Ara was nervous about leaving them alone for to long.

Ara jumped and looked at him for a moment before he nodded. “ Yes I’ll...I’ll go find them. ” he stood and headed off into the lab.

If Ara was being honest with himself, he would admit that it was the lab that was making him nervous. This was  _ Gaster’s _ lab. He hadn’t been down here in years. He hadn’t been able to come back after the accident.

Ara growled as he thought of Gaster. Dr. Gaster had been more concerned with his experiments than with safety. He pushed things that shouldn’t have been pushed. And he paid the price for it. He was gone.

The world glitched around him and a monster was suddenly standing in front of him. “Ara. Gaster has been watching you.”

Ara huffed. “ That is what the last one said .” who were these people?

The monster glitched. “He watches you watch his children. He watches you protect the human. He warns you about what Sans is doing.”

Ara felt uneasy. “ Is something wrong with our math? Is Sans going to be hurt ?” Even if he wanted Dr. Gaster back, and wanted the skeletons happy, he would stop this if they could get hurt.

The monster stared at the wall, his eyes glazed over. “What is going to be done. Cannot be undone. The math is correct. Are you ready for him to be back?”

Ara didn’t even hesitate. “ They need their father back .”

The world glitched and the monster was gone. Papyrus turned around the corner with Frisk. “ ARA! WE WERE JUST ON OUR WAY BACK! WERE YOU COMING TO WALK WITH US? ”

Ara walked over to Frisk and nudged her, letting her on his shoulders. “ Sans sent me to come and get you. I think he is almost done. ”

Papyrus grinned and Frisk put a hand on Ara’s head. “Are you excited to see your friend again?”

Ara was quiet for a moment. “ Yes...though I worry. I do wonder if he will be angry with me, because I gave up .”

Papyrus looked at him. “ I AM SURE THAT IF HE IS TRULY YOUR FRIEND HE WILL UNDERSTAND. OR HE WILL AT LEAST LISTEN TO YOUR REASONS. ”

Ara hummed. “ He was always very understanding. He helped me through a very rough time in my life. I had always hoped I’d get to pay him back .”

They reached Sans and found him staring at the machine, messing with his hands. “ It’s done .”

Ara let Frisk slid from his shoulders and sat next to Sans. “ Are you ready for this ?”

Sans nodded. “ Wonder if everyone will remember him once he comes back .” he took a deep breath. “ Paps, want to help me hit the button ?”

Papyrus walked over and put his hand over Sans. After a moment's hesitation they brought their hands down on the button.

The machine whirled and started shaking. The room started to be filled with a bright light. Papyrus stumbled back, groaning in pain. Ara ducked behind Frisk, hiding slightly as the light started to surround the machine.

There was a loud popping sound, and a door on the machine opened. A tall skeleton stepped out of the machine. He wore a black lab coat, with a white shirt underneath and black pants. His skull was more oval shaped, and he had two large cracks, one starting at each eye socket, on his skull. One of these cracks went up towards the top of his skull while the other stopped at his mouth. 

He smiled and Frisk noticed his hands had a large hole cut out on each of his palms. Sans looked like he was crying. “ Dr. Gaster .”

Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “ DAD? ”

Dr. Gaster’s smile widened, before he stumbled and collapsed.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisks talks to Gaster and learns some things about Ara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you are probably thinking, what about Asriel? Well don't worry, I didn't forget. We're getting to that.
> 
> That being said, the chapter after this is going to be all about Ara, it's his entire back story. From the war, to after the war, his time as Royal Guard, and his time with Gaster.
> 
> Final thought, my head cannon for monster breeding is that Monsters each share a part of their soul and that new part makes a baby. So you don't have to be a certain type of monster to breed with another certain type of monster. All monsters can breed with each other <3

Papyrus caught Gaster before he could fall. Frisk saw magical hands, like the ones that Ara made only purple, appear next to Gaster. Her eyes widened when they started signing. “ Papyrus, look how big you’ve gotten .” he was speaking as his hands signed, but Frisk didn’t understand what he was saying.

Papyrus shook his head, his voice very quiet for once. “ I knew there was something missing. I just knew it. I’m sorry I forgot you .”

Sans walked over right as Gaster chuckled. “ It’s okay, I know you  _ mist _ me .”

Papyrus stared at him, a slight dead look in his eyes while Sans laughed. “ Maybe we should a _ void _ the jokes for now. Paps can barely handle mine .”

Frisk looked at Ara. She kept her voice a whisper. “Why can’t I understand him?”

He jumped and Frisk noticed his eyes were glowing green. “He’s speaking WingDings, only skeletons can speak WingDings. Do...do you understand the sign language?”

She nodded quickly. “Yeah. Thanks, I was confused for a minute.”

“ Ara ?” Ara froze suddenly and he and Frisk both looked at Dr. Gaster. He was staring at Ara, his eye sockets wide.

Ara’s tail went between his legs and he ducked down, still trying to hide behind Frisk. “ Dr. Gaster. I...I’m happy to see you again .”

Dr. Gaster tried to walk over to him, but stumbled again. Papyrus held onto him. “ DAD YOU NEED REST! YOU CAN TALK TO US AND YOUR FRIEND LATER. FOR NOW WE SHOULD GET YOU HOME. ” Dr. Gaster yelped when Papyrus lifted him into his arms and started walking out of the room.

Sans chased after them. “ It’s a lost cause fighting with him dad. Sides, you do need rest .”

Ara waited until they had left before he crawled out from behind Frisk. He bent down. “ Come, or Papyrus will come back for you. ”

Frisk climbed on his back and waited until they were out of the lab to start talking. “Ara...why were you hiding from him? I thought you were friends.”

He was quiet for a moment. “ You’re too young to understand .”

Frisk narrowed her eyes. “Maybe you’re too scared to tell me.”

He flinched. “ Frisk please. Everything that I’ve done...even someone  _ my _ age shouldn’t have to deal with it .” they reached the fairy and Ara climbed on, wrapping his tail around Frisk so he could sit and she wouldn’t fall. “ I lived with Gaster before Asriel and Chara died. I helped him with his experiments, and he helped me...learn how to be  _ me _ again. But then everything changed and he was gone and I...I couldn’t handle everything that had been left to me. So I ran away .”

Frisk was quiet, thinking on what he said. Once they reached Snowdin and he climbed off the fairy she took a deep breath. “I was running away to.” she whispered. “When I came here.” she didn’t continue.

Ara didn’t make her. He headed to Sans and Papyrus house and slipped inside. Gaster was sitting on the couch. He had Papyrus sitting at his feet, and Sans next to him. He glanced at Ara before he noticed Frisk. “ Oh, hello young human .” The hands appeared and started signing the moment he started speaking.

Frisk smiled. “Hi, I’m Frisk. It’s nice to meet you.”

Gaster smiled. “ Yes, though technically we  _ have _ met. Every time you’ve noticed something strange, that has been me. I’m sorry if I ever frightened you, it was...difficult to communicate outside the void. ”

Frisk shook her head. “Oh no, I...I’ve seen some strange things around here. You haven’t frightened me.” she smiled.

Gaster put his hand on Papyrus shoulder and stood, he waved his hand when his children protested. He walked over and stood in front of Ara. “ I thought you hated this form .”

Ara looked away. “ It’s easier this way .”

Gaster shook his head. “ You’re ridiculous .” he dropped to his knees and suddenly hugged Ara. “ I know you tried your best after I left, and I am sorry I left you. You did what you could, and I’m proud of you for helping this young human. ”

Ara started shaking. “ I can’t do it yet. I want to but I can’t and  _ I’m sorry _ I’m so scared. I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry .”

He pulled away. “ Ara...haven’t I always told you that you’ve been  _ brave _ ? Look at you, working with a human. It took you years to become comfortable with Chara, and yet you  _ still _ would jump and get nervous when you were in a room alone together. Isolating yourself did nothing but hurt  _ you _ . What happened to -”

Ara shook his head. “ We fought. Over… ” he glanced at Sans and Papyrus.

Gaster nodded and stood, he nudged Ara until he followed him over to the couch. “ Sans, Papyrus, I’m not sure if you remember him. But Ara used to work with me. He would also watch you boys for me when I was busy. ”

Sans eyes widened. Frisk smiled as she watched Papyrus hug Ara and start talking quickly about all the adventures they had had. Sans would comment on a science thing they had done together. She walked over and nudged Sans. “I’m going to go to Grillby’s and get something to eat.”

Sans was  _ really _ smiling. “ Tell him I said hey and that he should stop by after he gets off. Don’t ruin the surprise though. ”

Frisk skipped off and headed out of the house. She waved to a few monsters on her way to Grillby’s before slipping into the bar. The Dogs waved and barked excitedly, greeting her as she came in, she waved back.

Frisk sat on a stool in front of Grillby and smiled. “Hi Grillby. Sans says hello and that he wants you to come over later.” she was grinning.

Grillby watched her for a moment before he nodded and went back to cleaning the glass in his hands.

Frisk put her hands on the bar. “Could I have a burger please?”

He nodded and set the glass down, before heading to the door behind the bar and slipping through. 

Frisk kicked her feet and grinned. She couldn’t wait for Dr. Gaster to be rested enough that he could help her. She was almost done, this was her last run, and she couldn’t wait to see Asriel again. To see him  _ happy _ .

Grillby brought out her burger and she grinned, thanking him. She dug into her burger, enjoying the food. Grillby watched her for a moment before he stood across from her. “Is Sans alright?” his voice was a quiet crackle of flames.

Frisk nearly choked. He normally only spoke to her after she broke the barrier. “Yeah, he’s great. He’s just busy right now.” she smiled.

Grillby watched her for a moment before he nodded and went back to cleaning the glass in his hands.

The door opened and Frisk turned to see who it was. Ara slipped into the bar, his head was down, and his tail between his legs. She jumped and the whole bar turned when they heard a glass shatter. Grillby had dropped the glass in his hands.

The bird by the bar cleared his throat. “You alright Grillby?”

Grillby didn’t look at him. He kept his eyes on Ara, who was slowly walking through the quiet bar. “What are you doing here Ara?”

Ara stopped once he was next to Frisk. “ Sans sent me to get you. Come, he said Papyrus has some food in the fridge you can heat up if you’re still hungry .”

Grillby’s flames raised slightly. “Ara what are you doing around Sans? You shouldn’t be anywhere  _ near _ him and Papyrus. Not after what you did to them. You need to just go back to whatever cave you crawled out of.”

Ara flinched slightly, but didn’t look at Grillby. “ Please Frisk. We don’t want to keep them waiting .”

Frisk slipped from the bar stool, she stumbled when Ara nudged her and started pushing her towards the door. “Ara why are we-” the door caught on fire.

Ara curled around Frisk, but didn’t look back at Grillby. The whole bar felt tense. “What are you doing back Ara?” Frisk noticed a slight accent slipped in with Grillby’s voice.

Ara sighed and his shoulders dropped. “ I’m protecting the human. Please Grillby...I won’t bother you again. I’m sorry to surprise you like this. Just...let me take the human back to Sans .”

The fire went out without a word from Grillby and Ara quickly rushed Frisk through the door. He shook himself once they were out in the snow. “ Quickly .” he started nudging her again.

They only made it a few feet before fire separated them. Grillby came marching out of the bar. “No. No you don’t get to just appear back in my life and then disappear again. Where were you, what happened, why did you  _ leave _ ?”

People were coming out of their homes to see what was going on. Grillby had made a ring of fire around the two of them, keeping Ara from escaping. Frisk climbed up on a rock so she could see better.

Ara’s tail twitched. “ Please...we shouldn’t be having this conversation like this. I...just let me  _ go _ Grillby. Please just let me go .”

Grillby’s voice took on a scottish accent. “Just let you  _ go _ ? Ara for all I knew you could have been  _ dead _ ! You  _ promised _ Gaster that you would take care of his kids if anything happened. You  _ swore _ !”

Ara flinched back. “ I couldn’t...I tried Grillby I...I’m not a parent .”

Grillby’s flames were nearly out of control. “And then! And then you left  _ me _ ! After  _ everything _ we went through! You told me we weren’t  _ friends _ ! You told me  _ I didn’t understand _ !” Ara flinched back with every word. Grillby was  _ screaming _ at him. “Who held you when you cried after your father was dusted?  _ Me _ ! Who fought by your side in the war?  _ Me _ !”

Ara growled. “ _ I know _ !” he stepped toward Grillby. He shook his head and suddenly charged at Grillby. 

Frisk gasped when the battle started. There was fire being thrown everywhere, with bones and what looked like magic drinks. Each of them were dodging, but Frisk noticed...they were actually landing blows. They were hurting each other.

She turned quickly and ran for Sans house. She burst through the door. “Ara and Grillby are fighting!”

Sans eyes went wide and Papyrus looked concerned. Dr. Gaster sighed. “ Not this again .” he stood. “ I’ll handle this .” he quickly walked out the door.

Sans, Papyrus, and Frisk all chased after him. Nearly all of Snowdin was surrounding the fight. Frisk could see flames shooting into the air.

Gaster pushed through all of them, muttering to himself. He stepped into the battle and his magical hands appeared. The signed as he spoke. “ Boys. This is ridiculous. Stop this nonsense .” they kept fighting.

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eye sockets. “ This is your last warning .” Frisk wasn’t sure if they could hear him. Gaster sighed and suddenly lifted his hands, two giant skulls appeared next to him.

Frisk gasped and heard Sans whispers of shock. A dark purple light built up inside of the skulls before they both fired. One at Ara and the other at Grillby.

Grillby managed to dodge, falling over and staring at where the shot had come from in shock. Ara, on the other had, hadn’t had time to move and had ducked his head down, taking the brunt of the blow.

Frisk could see his stats now, as she watched the slight drop in HP. Right next to his HP, was LV 17. LOVE 17. Ara had  _ LOVE _ .

He sat up and shook himself, the battle ended. “ Gaster, you should be resting. We weren’t hurting each other. ”

Gaster huffed. “ No, you weren’t hurting him. He has no lost HP,  _ you _ on the other hand have lost some. So both of you, follow me .” he turned and headed back to the house.

Sans looked at Grillby and rubbed the back of his skull. “ Surprise. I brought my dad back .”

Grillby looked at Ara, Frisk saw he looked upset when he noticed Ara flinch slightly as he put weight on one of his front paws. “Did you help them do this?”

Ara glanced at him. “ It was the humans and Sans. I had -”

“ A lot to do with it. ” Sans interrupted. “ I couldn’t get all the math, and Ara helped with a lot of theories. I don’t think I could have done it without him .”

Ara ducked his head and started walking towards the house, he wasn’t putting any weight on his front paw, instead keeping it in the air. “ You were doing very well. I only needed to help with minor adjustments. ”

Frisk quickly dug through her pockets. She pulled out a dog salad and held it out to Ara. “Sometimes it maxes out my HP.”

He smiled and nudged her. “ Keep it. I’ll be fine. I know healing magic .” he hesitated. “ I...please tell Dr. Gaster that I will join all of you soon. I...I have something at home I need to get .” he turned and ran off.

Frisk looked at Grillby. “Why were you two fighting?”

Grillby sighed, his accent gone. “Ara and I were friends on the surface, before the war. We joined the war together, we...we went through alot together. After Dr. Gaster had his accident, Ara claimed that the world was too much for him. That he had no one who understood him and everyone around him kept getting hurt. So he and I fought...we attacked each other, and he ran away. I haven’t seen him since.”

Frisk frowned. “Did you look for him?”

Grillby hesitated. “Not at first...and by the time I started, many years had passed without any sign of him. I thought he was dead.”

Frisk crossed her arms. “Well then you two have to make up.” she nodded as they entered the house.

Gaster looked at them, he was sitting with Papyrus. “I ’m sure Ara will join us later. And...while I’m sure he would rather this be kept secret. I need to understand, and I think you do as well young human. Grillby, would you like to help me tell his story ?”

Grillby hesitated before he nodded and walked over. He sat down. “You all saw his stats?” Frisk bit her lip as she nodded She saw Sans and Papyrus do the same.

“That’s what war does.” he mumbled. “It leaves scars that never heal.” his own gray soul slipped out of his chest and Frisk’s eyes widened when she saw the LV 16.

“Ara’s father was the-” the door opened and he stopped.

A tall figure, in black, pants, with a blue hoodie like Sans and a red scarf like Papyrus walked into the home. They had what looked like dust on them. They slid the hood off and Frisk noticed they were a skeleton monster, though the skull looked like Ara’s head...and the tail…

“Ara?” she whispered.

He looked at her before he huffed and walked over. He sat at Gaster’s feet. “M y father was the first to die in the Monster Human war. We didn’t learn until later that a fight broke out because my father had used magic to get water from the well .”

Frisk was staring at him with wide eyes. “You’re a skeleton.”

He laughed. “ Yes, this is the form I was born in. My mother was a skeleton monster and my father a dog monster. I can switch between the two forms, however this is my favorite .” he lowered his eyes. “ Do we have to tell a  _ child _ this story ?”

Gaster nodded. “ They need to understand. Everyone does. Even Grillby and myself. Start at the beginning .”

Ara sighed. “ This might take awhile .”


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I forgot that I was writing this. I'm going to post what I have so far, meaning the next chapter will be about Ara's past as well. But then after that we'll get right back to Frisk and the others. I'm sorry I forgot about this, and I'll try not to take so long to post again.

Ara was gifted in magic at a very young age. His skeleton mother, and dog monster father, were very proud of him and spent many evenings training with him. He was naturally gifted in healing magic, and could heal even the worst wound with only a few hums and a smile.

Living on the surface, Ara would play with the few human children in his village. People would come to his home if they were hurt or ill, and he would happily heal them. Ara loved helping people and saw goodness in every little thing.

There were few monsters living in his village, and one family was a small fire elemental group. Ara didn’t see them often, and was constantly trying to talk to them. Or even get a peek at them.

He was sitting just outside the village one day, enjoying the rain, when he heard a quiet crying. He stood and tilted his head, listening. Carefully he followed the sound to a large tree, with branches so low and thick he couldn’t see the trunk.

With a huff he pushed through the branches. A young fire monster was hugging his knees, curled up against the trunk. He was shaking and flinched every time a drop of water managed to get through the thick branches.

Ara’s tail twitched. “ Hello .”

The boy yelped and jumped, his glasses fell off and he squealed grabbing them before they could hit the ground. “W-what are you do-doing here?” he had a scottish accent.

Ara smiled. “ I was enjoying the rain .” his smile disappeared. “ Though...I get why you’re hiding. Are you hurt? ” he walked over to him.

The boy flinched back. “I’m fi-” he cut off with a hiss of pain as a water drop hit his head. His flames were low, and more a red ember color than bright flames.

Ara quickly walked over to him and sat in front of him. “ I’m Ara. Can I help you? ”

The boy hugged himself. “I’m Grillby. I...I’ll be fine once it stops raining.”

Ara leaned back on his hands. “ If you say so. ” he hummed. “ It was raining this morning, so...how did you get here? ”

Grillby fixed his glasses. “I...I snuck out last night and fell asleep. I woke up when a drop of rain hit me.” he glanced up. “I’ve been moving around trying to keep the rain from hitting me. This is the driest spot.”

Ara looked up. “ I want to help. ” he stood and his eyes glowed green. He took a deep breath and held out his hands. Shakily a fort of bones surrounded Grillby. He smiled. “ There. I’ll just hold that until the rain stops. ”

Grilby looked up at the bones. “Can you?”

Ara hesitated. “ Well...I mean I’ll try. ”

Grillby’s flames brightened slightly. “Thank you Ara.”

The boys sat for a few hours, talking about their favorite games and books. Ara had curled next to Grillby, watching his flames become a bright orangish yellow, and flicker as he spoke. His eyes stayed glowing green as they talked.

“Ara?” a voice called from outside the tree.

Ara smiled. “ Mom! I’m in here! Is it still raining? ”

A female skeleton monster pushed her way through the branches, her dress catching on a few. “Yes it’s just a drizzle now but the field is flooded.” her eyes widened. “Oh.” she smiled. “Well now I know why you disappeared.”

Grillby rubbed his arm. “The field is flooded?”

Ara let his bone fort disappear and he stood. “ Don’t worry. I can get you across. ” he looked at his mom. “ How deep is it? ”

She huffed. “Ankle deep. And don’t you even think of changing your form. The doctor said to wait until you’re at least eleven. You’re only nine.”

He huffed and crossed his arms. “ But I can carry him across like that .”

She shook her head. “No. I’m going to go tell his parents he’s here, and they’ll come get him. Wait here.” she turned and headed off.

Ara looked at Grillby. “ Want to go see what it looks like? ”

Grillby jumped up and followed him out of the tree. The water was close to the edge of the branches, but they could stand outside of the branches. Ara wiggled his tail. “ I really want to run through that. ”

Grillby looked at him. “It would kill me.”

Ara crossed his arms. “ You’re nine, you can’t die yet .”

Grillby huffed. “I’m  _ eight _ .”

Ara stared at him. “ Oh… ” he grinned. “ I’m older than you. ” he laughed. 

“Grillby!” both boys jumped as the name was called. A blue fire monster ran through the water, they were wearing waterproof boots up to their knees.

They grabbed Grillby and lifted him into her arms. “Grillby. I was so worried. Where were you?”

He hugged her. “I’m sorry mom. I just wanted to play outside.”

Ara kicked at the water slightly. “ So...can I run through this now? ”

The blue flame looked at him. “Oh...I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

Ara shrugged. “ That’s okay. I’m Ara. I protected Grillby from the rain. ” his eyes widened. “ Mom! Mom I held my bone fort for  _ hours _ ! ” 

His mother walked over and picked him up. “I’m so proud of you.” she clicked her teeth against his forehead in a skeleton kiss.

Ara wiggled and looked at Grillby. “ Once the field dries come play tag with me. Or we could climb that tree. Or maybe- ”

Grillby giggled. “Tomorrow could I go to your house? We...we could read or practice magic.”

Ara grinned. “ That sounds  _ great _ ! ” he looked at his mom. “ Grillby is coming over tomorrow mom .”

She smiled and looked at Grillby’s mother. “Is that alright with you?”

She hesitated before she nodded. “As long as he wears his boots I’m sure he’ll be safe from the puddles.”

Ara leaned over and clicked his muzzle against Grillby’s forehead. “ I’ll see you tomorrow. ” he giggled and wiggled out of his mom's arms, running and rolling through the flooded field.

***

Ara blinked and stared at Grillby with large confused eyes. “ You want me to do  _ what _ ? ” Ara was thirteen, and he and Grillby had been best friends since they met years ago.

Grillby faced him. “Hit FIGHT. I want to practice my attacks. You should to.”

Ara rubbed his arm. “ I don’t feel comfortable with this. I’m not a fighter. How about you attack me, and I’ll choose MERCY? ”

Grillby sighed. They were facing each other in the field just outside of the village. They normally met at the tree where they had first met. “Ara, you need to practice more with your attack magic. You’re the best healer I’ve seen, but your attacks never stick.”

Ara crossed his arms. “ Maybe it’s just because I don’t want them to. I don’t like fighting. I like healing people, not hurting them. ”

Grillby smiled. “Don’t you ever change Ara.”

Ara’s cheeks turned green when he blushed. “ Oh shush and hurry up. ” he hit MERCY. “ Attack me so we can at least get something done. ”

Grillby chuckled and summoned his fire around him. It flickered between orange and blue and he threw it at Ara.

Ara ducked and twisted, he laughed as he ran through the orange ones, barely having enough time to freeze for the blue ones. His tail managed to help give him balance.

He rushed through an orange flame, and gasped when he tripped, falling through a blue one. The world flickered as Grillby ended the battle and ran over to Ara. “Ara! Ara are you alright?” he dropped next to him.

Ara was curled up, holding his ribs. “ Ow. I’m okay. ” 

Grillby looked at his HP and gasped. 1/40. Grillby knew even with his hit he wouldn’t have lowered it that much. “Ara what happened? Why was your HP so low?”

Ara slowly uncurled. “ I’m fine Grillby. I just need to- ” he cut off when Grillby put a hand over his soul and Ara could feel magic flowing through him.

Ara sighed as his HP filled back up. Grillby looked at him. “Why was it so low Ara? I could have healed you. I know I’m not as good as you, but we heal each other all the time.”

Ara rubbed his arm. “ I...I was...I got into a fight with that human kid, the boy in our class. He was being mean to that water monster. He hit me. I kept telling him we didn’t have to fight, but he didn’t want to hear it. My HP got down to ten before an adult showed up and stopped us. Then I came here. ”

Grillby sighed. “Ara...Ara you have to stand up for yourself.”

Ara shook his head. “ There has to be a nonviolent answer. Everyone can be good. Even if they don’t know it. ”

Grillby hugged him. “Call me next time he tries to fight you. I’ll protect you.” he pulled away and stood. “Now, I’ve seen your bone wall, let's see if you can still use it for protection.”

Ara laughed and shook his head. “Hit me with your best shot.”

***

Ara growled slightly, paws in front of him, butt in the air, wiggling slightly. He let out a sharp bark and the young water monster let out a squeal and hid behind her human friend. The human giggled and barked back.

Ara pounced at them, just missing them as they went running. He gave chase. Both of the children were laughing loudly, running through the dirt streets. 

Ara noticed the children race across the street a horse was riding down, and didn’t look like it was stopping. His eyes burned green and two hands appeared, they grabbed the back of the children’s dresses and pulled them back safely to his side.

The human girl groaned. “Ara!”

He chuckled and nudged both of them. “ Run home now, both of you. It is late, and remember to watch both ways. I won’t be able to catch you again. ”

The water monster kissed his cheek before she squealed when he licked her and ran off. The human girl chased after him.

Ara sat and watched them go down the street before he stretched and headed back to where they were playing. He shifted back into his skeleton form and slipped on his clothes. He was very rarely in his other form, but the children loved it so.

Ara sorted through his pockets, making sure he had everything, before he noticed a beautiful red flower. He dug it up carefully with his magic and held it in his hand, walking carefully down the street.

He reached a smaller house and knocked on the door, grinning. A fire monster opened the door, his glasses crooked on his face. “Ara?” his head tilted.

Ara held out the flower. “ The color reminded me of you. I saw it while I was playing with the children. ”

Grillby reached out but a green shield appeared around it. Ara shook his head, grinning. Grillby rolled his eyes and let him into the house. “Aren’t you too old to play with them?”

Ara huffed. “ Just because we’re teenagers doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. My parents don’t care what I do as long as I get my chores done. Speaking of, are you done yet? ”

Grillby nodded. “Yeah. Let me grab my coat.” he opened a closet and pulled out a soft grey coat. He slipped it on.

Ara groaned and grabbed his friend. He started pushing him, earning him cackling laughter. “ Hurry up! It’s been so boring with the kids. They all want me to play tag with them in my other form. ”

Grillby smiled. “I thought you liked the kids?” he laughed when Ara shoved him.

They walked down the street. Seeing humans and monsters talking or doing business. It was a strangely quiet day. Normally the streets were packed, but few people were out and about.

Grillby stopped once they reached the town well. There seemed to be some sort of fight. “Something's wrong.”

Ara nodded. “ It doesn’t feel right. You stay here. ” he went forward, growling slightly when Grillby ignored him and followed close behind. 

The group was mostly human, with a few worried looking monsters. Ara saw his father standing in the center facing a human. His father was a dog monster whose form looked very close to his own, though without the bones.

Ara grabbed Grillby’s arm. The human was male, and he seemed to be yelling at Ara’s father. He suddenly shoved him and Ara’s dad lashed out, knocking him down. The human tackled him and a fight ensued.

Ara shouted and Grillby grabbed him tightly. “Don’t.” 

His father jumped back, fire forming a circle around the human. The crowd quickly backed up. The human shouted and ran for the wall of fire. “I’ll get you!” he jumped over it.

Ara was shoved behind the crowd for a moment before Grillby suddenly pushed their way forward. Ara froze. There was blood. The human was on the ground and his father’s claws were covered in blood.

The humans started whispering, which turned to shouting. Which turned to attacking. Grillby grabbed Ara and ran.

They reached Ara’s house and hid inside. His mother jumped. “Ara?” she was had been washing their dishes. “What’s wrong?”

Ara was breathing quickly. “ Dad and a human fought. I...I think dad killed him .”

Her eyes went wide. “Stay in the house boys.” she quickly ran out the door.

Grillby shook his head. “What were they even fighting over?”

Ara leaned against the wall. “ I don’t know. I didn’t hear. Do...do you think that guys okay? ” his eyes burned a bright green. “ Maybe I could go back and help. I’m wonderful with healing magic- ”

Grillby stopped him. “Your mom said to stay here.”

Ara growled at him. “ But- ”

Grillby shook his head. “No you-” the door opened and Ara’s mother dragged in his father.

Ara ran over. “ Dad! ” Grillby backed away.

His dad reached his hand out. Ara noticed he was dusting. His mother was crying. “Ara…” he turned to dust.

Ara screamed, his eyes burning green. His mother grabbed him. “Shh. Shh.” she was still crying.

Ara shoved away from her and grabbed Grillby, he ran from his home. Grillby managed to get him back to his house and locked them in. He hugged Ara tightly. “I’m here. I’ll never leave you.”

Ara held him and cried.

***

The war picked up quickly after that. Humans were frightened of what monsters could do. Some humans accused monsters of trying to steal their souls. Monsters were forced to retreat and soon their whole population was together.

Ara was holding onto Grillby’s arm, they had been separated from the people from their village, and neither had seen their parents in weeks.

Grillby noticed people walking past putting on armor. “I think I might join the army.” he whispered suddenly.

Ara looked at him with wide eyes. “ You can’t. What if you get hurt? I heard monsters get dusted by the dozen when they go out to fight .”

Grillby shook his head. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. What if my parents are dead? What if your mom is dead? We can’t just sit here, I have to help.”

Ara shook his head. “ No. You can’t leave me. What if you die? ”

Grillby rubbed his arm. “It’s a little hard for humans to touch me if I don’t want them to. As long as we’re not fighting near a river, I should be fine.”

Ara stepped away from him. “ If you join then I’m going to join. ”

Grillby laughed. “Ara, you can’t fight. You’ve barely practiced with your attacks and I’ve never seen you choose fight.”

Ara crossed his arms. “ I...I can fight. I… ” he shook his head. “ I don’t have to fight, I can be a healer or something. ”

Grillby shook his head. “Everyone has to be able to fight. Even the healers. You would have to protect the wounded monsters.”

Ara put his hands on his head. “ I...I don’t know. I just don’t want to lose you. I hate this war. Why are they attacking us? ”

Grillby shook his head. “Their frightened.”

Ara growled. “ Of  _ what _ ? We haven’t done anything! Monsters are made of love and compassion. We’ve always gotten along with the humans .”

Grillby sighed. “Ara I don’t know what you want to hear. I know as much as you do. Maybe the King knows more.”

Ara looked at the tents around them, housing the monsters that were running just like them. “ What if we win? What if we don’t win? What if this is it? ”

Grillby shook his head. “No, this isn’t it. We’re going to, to...maybe not win, but we won’t lose. The King will fix this.”

Ara nodded. “ You’re right. He’ll make this better. Maybe we can talk to the humans? We can tell them we aren’t scary, and that we don’t have to fight. ” he smiled.

Grillby grabbed him. “I’m sure they’d listen to you.” he pulled away when a group of monsters walked over.

One of them was a dog monster, another was a turtle, and the third a bird like monster. The turtle had a hammer on his belt. They all wore armor. “Are you two both set up?”

Grillby nodded. “Yeah, thank you for asking.”

Ara smiled. “ I’m Ara, this is my friend Grillby. It’s a pleasure to meet you .”

The dog monster rolled his eyes, but said nothing. The bird like monster laughed. The turtle smiled though. “I’m Gerson. Have you two thought of joining the army?”

Grillby hesitated. “I was thinking about it.”

Gerson nodded. “We could use a fire monster. You’d be really helpful in defending the troops.”

Ara crossed his arms. “ If you join, I join .”

The bird monster laughed again. “You’d get dusted before you could even walk out onto the battlefield.”

Ara glared at him. “ I- ”

“Ara.” Grillby shook his head. “Please don’t.”

Ara sighed and huffed, sitting down. “ I mean it. I’m not letting you run out there on your own. ”

Gerson looked at Grillby. “If you can get him to change his mind. We could really use your help.” he nodded to his friends and they walked off.

Grillby looked at Ara. “You’re not joining the army.”

Ara’s eyes glowed green. “ Then neither are you. ”

***

Grillby had disappeared one night from Ara’s life, after they fought about Ara joining the war. Ara knew he had gone to join, and didn’t want Ara to know. So Ara was sitting outside of the King’s tent, waiting for him to come out.

King Asgore was taller than Ara thought he would be. When he exited the tent, full armor, he towered over the other monster around him. And that didn’t include his horns.

Ara quickly bounced up. “ King Asgore? ”

The King stopped and looked at him. “Oh, hello. Do you need something?”

Ara bowed his head. “ I want to join the army. I’m exceptionally skilled with healing magic, and would like to help in any way that I can. ”

King Asgore looked him up and down. “Follow me.” he started walking down the rows of tents.

Ara chased after him, his tail twitching nervously behind him. King Asgore led him to a large tent and slipped inside after a moment's hesitation. Ara followed him and froze. The healer's tent. He stopped, looking at the monsters with low HP.

King Asgore waved his hand. “Help.”

Ara took a deep breath and walked over to the nearest monster. They were covered in scratches and their HP was slowly lowering, point by point.

Ara smiled. “ Hey, I’m Ara, I’m here to help .” his eyes glowed green and he felt the magic flow through him.

Ara healed six people before he stumbled slightly, running low on magic. King Asgore grabbed him. “I think you’ve done enough.”

Ara shook his head. “ They need help. I can help them. I just want to help. ”

King Asgore looked him up and down. “Follow me, I’ll get you some armor.” he helped Ara out of the tent.

Ara thought the armor was too heavy, but he wasn’t going to complain. He thought of telling the King about his other form, but he didn’t see any reason for him to be in that form. So kept his mouth shut.

He fixed the armor on him and headed out to where the rest of the army was. He found Grillby sitting alone, staring at his hands.

Ara dropped next to him. “ I told you I’d join if you did. ”

Grillby jumped, his eyes went wide. “How?”

Ara shrugged. “ He didn’t ask too many questions once I healed six monsters on the edge of death. ”

Grillby sighed. “I’d try to make you leave, but I doubt he’d let you go after seeing you do that. Just...stay safe please.”

Ara smiled. “ I’ll stay with the wounded. I swear. ”

Grillby nodded. “I’ll make sure humans never get close to you.”

***

Ara had been part of the war for a few weeks. He stayed near the wounded, healed everyone that he could, and tried not to cry when someone dusted in front of him. He hated the feeling of dust on his bones. He felt like it would never go away.

He had seen battle, though was never apart of it. He’d seen dead humans, the image of their bodies was worse than the dust sometimes.

He followed around Grillby’s troop, and soon he was the only healer that they had. The King had come with a few more, and men to help hold the line.

Ara was outside of the tent, washing his hands in a stream, when he heard a sword being drawn. He turned and his eyes went wide. A human was slipping into the wounded tent.

Ara tried to run, but the armor was weighing him down. He ripped it off and changed into his other form, running faster than he could on two legs. The human stumbled back as he created a bone wall, blocking the tent.

The human turned and glared at him. He charged at him. Ara ducked back, a wall of bones forming to block off the human’s attack. The sword cut through the bones with ease and they disappeared with a puff. 

The human swung his sword towards him. Ara flinched back and bones shot out of the ground, slicing through the human.

Ara stared in shock when blood dripped down the bones, the human dropped when the bones disappeared. Ara felt something inside of his soul and he continued to stare, his eyes wide. He’d killed someone. 

He started shaking and could feel himself starting to panic. He heard a shout and turned. More humans, coming across the river. He glanced back at the tent. He didn’t have time to call for help. And he needed to defend the weak.

Grillby was talking with the King, trying to convince him to send Ara away from the front lines. He tried every time he ran into the King. And every time he was told Ara had made his choice.

“Ara doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s never been in a real fight before. He’ll be slaughtered if he’s caught alone. He doesn’t belong in that tent.” Grillby didn’t want to give up trying.

King Asgore sighed. “Grillby...you know I honor your opinion, however Ara is rarely alone. We always have another soldier at the healing tent.”

Grillby went to argue when he suddenly froze, he could see the healer's tent from his position and noticed fire being thrown from behind it. “The tent is under attack.” he ran for the tent.

King Asgore chased after him, calling for men. Grillby ran into the tent, past the guard who had fallen asleep at his post, realized they hadn’t reached it yet, and went through the back. He stumbled to a halt.

Ara was sitting in the middle of a group of dead bodies. There was fire dancing around him, and bones stuck into the ground. King Asgore drew his sword, but Grillby stopped him.

He slowly walked over to his friend. “Ara?” he heard murmurs of surprise behind him. “Ara what happened?”

Ara turned quickly and a wave of bones shot towards Grillby. Grilby flinched and they stopped right before hitting him. “Grillby?” his tail twitched.

Grillby smiled. “Hey Ara.” he stepped around the bones and walked closer. “Can you tell me what happened?”

The bones and fire disappeared. “I...they were going to attack the tent. I didn’t have any time to call for help. I...why do I feel numb?”

Grillby knelt next to him. “Let me see if you were hurt.” he pressed his hand to Ara’s chest. Ara’s soul spilled out into his hand and he stared in shock.

It was dim, with a crack in the center. LV 2 was hovering about it. They both stared at it in shock. Ara choked on a sob. “Guess that’s why I’m numb.”

Grillby closed his eyes and let healing magic flow through him. When he opened them the crack was gone, but Ara’s soul was still dim. “How do you feel now?”

Ara suddenly changed back into his skeleton form and grabbed him in a hug. He was shaking. “I had to do it. I had to do it.”

King Asgore walked over. “What happened here?”

Ara pulled away from Grillby. “Humans were attacking the tent. I stopped them.”

King Asgore looked around. “By yourself?”

Ara nodded. “Yes sir.”

King Asgore looked at Grillby. “You were right, he doesn’t belong in the healing tent. Ara, report to the front lines tomorrow. You’ll be getting new armour for your other form.” he turned and walked off.

Ara watched him leave. “Does...does that mean I’m going to be fighting?”

Grillby took a deep breath. “Yes, yes it does. Let’s get you cleaned up.” he stood and helped Ara up.

Gerson walked over. He looked at Ara. “Maybe we misjudged you. I’ll get your armour for you. You go relax from your first battle.” he headed towards the river.

Ara took a deep breath. “Are you mad at me?”

Grillby shook his head. “No...no I’d never be mad at you. I’m going to protect you. Let’s get some sleep.”

***

It didn’t take long for Ara to give in and stand at the front lines with Grillby. He was a fierce fighter, and humans learned to fear him. He rarely healed anyone anymore, and quickly started killing without mercy.

He didn’t listen to surrenders, and had to be dragged off the battlefield when a retreat was called. Grillby made sure to stay by his side through all of it, trying to keep his friend from falling to far. He didn’t want to lose him to this war.

The war however...didn’t last much longer. Monster were losing, and the King didn’t want anyone else to die. He held up the white flag of surrender and told the humans they had won. Monster kind would leave.

Ara was in his dog form, hair standing up and eyes burning a bright green, when they were told. “You  _ gave up _ !? After everyone that died for this and you  _ give up _ ?”

King Asgore sighed. “Young Ara...too many people have died on both sides. I am showing mercy, so that no more will die.”

Ara’s claws dug into the ground. “They don’t deserve mercy.”

Grillby went to speak, but King Asgore held up his hand. He walked over to Ara and knelt in front of him. “Ara...you have been fighting for some time, and that has taken a toll on your soul. Sometimes, mercy is the best and only option. We want peace, and this is the way.”

Ara lowered his head. “What if they kill all of us?”

Grillby shook his head. “They won’t we’re going to leave, and we’ll go somewhere we’re accepted. Right?” he looked at King Asgore.

He nodded. “Yes Grillby.”

They did not get to leave peacefully. The humans rounded them up like animals and forced them to walk up a mountain side. The walk was terrible, the children had to be carried, and the humans were cruel.

Asgore kept Ara next to him, and whispered to him about how they’d be safe soon, and they wouldn’t have to deal with the humans anymore. He told him tales of mercy until he finally noticed Ara calm down.

Ara’s steps slowed, and how tired he was finally seemed to show. He didn’t even growl at a human when they tripped him, he just stumbled and kept walking. Finally, they were all herded into a large cave going into the mountain.

Seven humans stood in front of the entrance, their souls glowed a different color each and with a bright flash of light, they were trapped inside of the mountain. Forever.

***

Ara walked beside Asgore as they made their way through the dark caverns. He could hear the other monsters behind them, but he wasn’t focusing on them. He was trying to keep putting one paw in front of the other. But his HP was dangerously low.

Asgore grabbed him when he tripped. He knelt next to him. “My friend...you are hurt.” he looked concerned.

Ara shook his head. “We have to keep moving.” he whispered.

Asgore shook his head. “We can rest for a moment. I think the others need a rest as well. You stay here my friend.” he helped Ara lay down before he headed back to check on other monsters.

Ara let out a shaky breath and forced himself into a sitting position. He focused on his magic and his soul appeared in front of him. Its normal white glow was dimmed, and he could see a few cracks in the center.

He shook when he noticed his LV. Seventeen. He made it to Seventeen before before the war ended. He was shaking, but couldn’t find it in him to regret what he’d done.

Ara had killed those humans to protect other monsters. Ara had killed them because they were going to kill him. Ara had killed them because he  _ enjoyed _ it.

He quickly shook his head and his soul disappeared. He didn’t enjoy it. Asgore had taught him to show mercy again. Mercy…

“Ara?” he jumped and groaned when he tried to move, his magic refusing to work with how weak he was. Grillby knelt next to him. “Asgore said you were hurt.” his soft voice flowed gently through the air.

Ara lowered his head. “My HP’s low.”

Grilby sighed. “I think everyone's is at the moment, but I saw your soul Ara. There were cracks in it. Let me heal you.”

Ara leaned against him, slumping all his weight on him. “I’m scared Grillby.”

Grillby hugged him. “It’s alright Ara. We’ll be alright.”

Ara felt hatred at the humans burn inside of him, his eyes glowed a bright green. He felt healing magic flow through him and flinched when Grillby pulled back. “Let me see.”

Ara lowered his head and looked away as his soul appeared. He didn’t want to see the judgment. He could hear Grillby softly murmuring and shivered when he lightly touched his soul. He glanced at his soul and saw all the cracks gone.

Quickly he pulled it back inside of him and curled in on himself. He wrapped his tail around him and pressed his back against the cavern wall. “Thank you.” 

Grillby gently stroked his head. “Ara...Ara look at me, please.”

Ara glanced up after a moment and his eyes went wide. Grillby was showing him his soul. LV. 16 hovered above it.

Ara shifted into his skeleton form and grabbed Grillby, hugging him. Asgore walked over. “Ara? I brought you something to eat.” he held out a biscuit.

Ara pulled away from Grillby and put his knees to his chest. He took the biscuit. “Thank you.” he broke it in half and held out half to Grillby.

Grillby settled next to him and took the biscuit. They sat in silence and ate, Asgore went to check on a few more people. 

Ara looked at the other monsters. “Do you think we’ll ever...I know it doesn’t go away, but this  _ feeling _ , this numb. Do you think it will go away?”

Grillby sighed. “I think we’ll always be different Ara. Even if we didn’t have LOVE. We killed people. That…” he took a deep breath. “That does something to a person's soul.”

Ara looked at his hands. He could almost  _ see _ the blood that he had been splattered. With a shake of his head he shifted back to his other form. He nudged Grillby’s arm until he lifted it and put his head in his lap. 

Grillby ran his hands through his fur, his flames warm against his skull. They stayed like that, silently watching the other monsters, until they both fell asleep.


End file.
